Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, said on Thursday that declaring a state of emergency in response to the country’s disastrous flooding was not yet necessary.
The Minister stated on Channels Television’s program monitored by BizWatch Nigeria that emergency services are not yet overwhelmed.
This year’s flooding disasters have killed at least 600 people and displaced millions, with many parts of the country still under water.
“It is certainly an emergency situation,” Adamu said, when quizzed on why the government had yet to declare a state of emergency. “But it depends on what you call a ‘state of emergency’.
“We have not reached a situation, in my view, where the relevant emergency management authorities are not being able to deal with this situation. I’m not aware that has happened.
“I’m sure if the situation was beyond our capacity, certainly a state of emergency, whatever that may encompass, would have been declared in the country.”
Intense rainfall caused flooding in Nigeria
According to the Minister, the main cause of the flooding was unprecedented rainfall.
He claimed that rainfall in the North East had been four times higher than normal.
Adamu stated that the government has an early warning system that is communicated through the Annual Flood Outlook, but that the report could not have predicted the severity of this year’s flood.
“It’s been a terrible one,” he said. “Our hearts go to the victims of this flood. Basically the entire country has been affected.”
Some blamed the flooding on the Lagdo dam in Cameroon, but the Minister was not convinced.
He claimed that the dam’s release “plays a very minor role” in the current disaster.
“Our trans-boundary waters are Rivers Niger and Benue, and Lagdo dam discharges into the River Benue, Niger and Lake Chad,” the Minister said.
“And these trans-boundary waters contribute only 20 percent to the fresh water resources in this country. The remaining 80 percent is generated within the country from rains or drains either to the North-East or coming into the Benue and Niger basins.”
