Away from soliciting for relief materials and other succour to the victims of flooding, the Convener of Mases Assembly, Comrade Sule Akpa, has advocated for the construction of dams by the federal government to reduce the yearly slogan and incidences of flooding across riverine areas in Nigeria.

The Convener said that conscious efforts by the government when taken, will reduce to the barest, the sufferings of people staying around the bank Rivers Benue and Niger.

Akpa made the appeal in a statement, while urging the federal government to rise to the occasion, as state governments lack the political will and enablement to handle such delicate and life- threatening natural phenomenon.

According to him, the ongoing assessment and extent of damages to lives and property was enormous, saying the ritual of distribution of relief materials by state and federal governments was no longer tenable.

Farm lands, properties and other materials have been either washed away or submerged by the current flooding, with state and federal governments not taking necessary measures beyond mere press conferences and releases,” the Convener said.

Ambassador Sule Akpa maintained that people, on their own, from Ibaji, Idah, Lokoja, Kogi , Omala local government areas have now resorted to self help, by evacuating their loved ones with boats at exorbitant costs.

He advised both state and federal governments to adopt concrete, lasting measures, rather than temporary measures on issues that were preventable on yearly basis.

The Convener said: “I think the government should please do the needful by creating dams around the Rivers of Niger and Benue to reduce this menace which looks like a yearly slogan of soliciting for relief items for flood victims, it's really sad, unfortunate and regrettable.

“Every year, people are run over by flood and they end up displaced. This has happened repeatedly, enough to make a sensitive and conscious government to design measures capable of tackling the near fatalistic incidents of flooding.

“The Solutions which is simply the creation of dams to serve as retentive channels in the event of flooding, given the unending global warming situations, are doable and only takes the political will to achieve just that.

“The G7 and other industrialized and developed nations whose activities give rise to this global unfortunate issues are not ready to attempt any curative or preventive means of cushioning the effects of the life-threatening challenges owing to their unrestricted activities.

“In the bid to ascertain the extent of damage to properties and livelihood by the flood, we were at Idah and Ejule Ojebe in Ibaji LGA today, the situation is so pathetic and disheartening. As for idah, the whole of Ega market is submerged, down to Ugwoda, part of Ede and others.

“In the case of Ibaji, apart from those wealthy enough to have story buildings, who now relocate to the upstairs as a result of the flood, all other areas are submerged, Uchuchu, Unale, Ayeke, Odeke, Echeno, Ojugono, Anocha and others, all displaced.

“As regards the means of transportation, the only way is through speed boat, and the fare is as high as N2, 500 just from Ega to Onyedega, from Odogwu to Ega, a journey of 12 kilometers is now 1,500 by speed boat.

“Aside the issue of accessibility as mentioned above, those living around the flooded areas are prone to various forms and degrees of one illness or the other, their farms have been over ran by waters, these are the multiple consequences of the flood situations as faced by Kogi, Niger, Benue, Anambra, Bayelsa and others.

“It’s becoming embarrassing to now begin to solicit for relief materials almost every season for circumstances that is preventable. The governments at both state and federal levels of the affected areas should collaborate and with the support from some willing donor agencies to find a lasting solutions to the flood occurrences.

“Meanwhile, in the face of all these terrible scenarios, NEMA and SEMA are nowhere to be found. Let us all lend our voices to this clarion call on the government to put machineries in motion, aimed at achieving that which we are orchestrating,”Akpa said.

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