…cautions against improper sewage disposal
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has donated N5 million cash and food items worth millions of Naira to the 2022 flood victims in Kogi to ameliorate the sufferings.
Dr George Moghalu, Managing Director of NIWA who presented the donations to the state government for onward delivery to the victims said it was part of the organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and an effort to identify with the victims.
He said that it was a way of reassuring the State Government that the organisation was always there and would always be there for the state in trying and difficult times.
“We are assuring the state government that we are with you in these difficult times. The environmental challenge affected practically 11 States and as we speak, this effort is being replicated in 10 other states.
Moghalu said that the weather reports on flooding for 2023, “Is a little bit worrisome. We need to do everything we can to save our people from difficulties and challenges.”
He said that NIWA as an agency had embarked on sensitization, encouragement of the people people living on floor plains to relocate and opening up of channels to check impact of flooding and its effect on the people.
“We came to terms with the fact that quite a lot of flooding will also take place this year. So, what we have done is to up the ante. We have increased sensitization, talking to people and encouraging them to relocate.
“As an organization, we are also opening up blocked and upsurge channels, doing maintenance dredging across the river banks so that water can have easy access because it is when water does not have easy access that it spreads and gets to the point of destruction.
“We are almost heading towards the rainy season and once that happens, we start running into trouble.
“So, What we are doing now is to educate the people, sensitize those who are living in flood plains, we encourage them to relocate before they are caught up by the weather challenge.
“The way we manage refuse is also a major environmental challenge. So, we need to keep sensitizing and educating our people so that we can dispose refuse properly so that we don’t create more problems for ourselves.”
Receiving the items on behalf of Kogi State Government, the Commissioner for Environment Mr Victor Adewale Omofaiye thanked the NIWA boss for the show of love to Kogi State.
“On behalf of Kogi State Government, we want to sincerely appreciate NIWA for coming around to show empathy towards our people.”
Omofaiye said it was quite unfortunate that Kogi state is strategically located on the confluence of the two largest river bodies in Africa – Niger and Benue adding that the rivers had always posed a challenge to the state with the perennial flooding.
He said that the effect was critical on the people and for that, the state had an emergency committee headed by the Deputy Governor in place to tackle ecological challenges headlong.
Omofaiye said that going by the prediction of NiMET on possible higher flooding this year, “We, as a proactive Government, have started sensitization in every nooks and cranny of the state especially in the 10 flood prone Local Government Areas.”
The Commissioner however decried a situation where people would not want to move from flood plains to safer places on the grounds that they don’t want to leave their ancestral homes.
Items donated include N5 million cash, 250 bags of rice, 200 bags of maize, 200 cartons of noodles, 200 cartons of five-litre gallons of oil and 200 bags of beans.
