Forum Urges FG To Prioritise Dredging Of River Niger, Benue

A National Consultative Forum on the 2013 flood prevention, mitigation preparedness and response has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the dredging of the Niger and Benue rivers to avert disaster.
The forum made the call in a communiqué made available to journalists in Abuja.
It said the dredging of the rivers would reduce siltation and increase river capacity in a flood situation.

A National Consultative Forum on the 2013 flood prevention, mitigation preparedness and response has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the dredging of the Niger and Benue rivers to avert disaster.
The forum made the call in a communiqué made available to journalists in Abuja.
It said the dredging of the rivers would reduce siltation and increase river capacity in a flood situation.
“The Federal Ministry of Water Resources should facilitate construction of structures like buffer dams, dykes, levees, barriers and flood diversion channels to prevent flooding,’’ it said.
It urged the ministry to ensure strict enforcement of environmental laws, land use planning, development control and building codes.
The communiqué further urged states and local governments to ensure effective municipal waste management to avoid blockage of drainage system.
“River Basin Development Authorities should ensure effective drainage basin management while state governments should develop evacuation plan to facilitate the evacuation of informal settlements from floodplains.
It urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to liaise with technological based organisations for proper deployment and utilisation of appropriate technologies in emergency preparedness and response (EPR).
The communiqué said in order to improve NEMA’s coordination in disaster management, it should strengthen its capacity in humanitarian coordination, partnership, advocacy and information management.
“NEMA in collaboration with stakeholders should review the National Contingency Plan (NCP) while response strategies should be developed and used by relevant bodies to ensure adequate preparedness and response.
“NEMA should mobilise humanitarian actors to develop standardised rapid and sectorial assessment tools and widely circulate them for use during emergencies,’’ it said.
It called on states without state emergency management agencies (SEMA) to establish, fund and staff them for effective coordination, emergency preparedness and response.
The forum urged NEMA to with relevant sectors develop comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework to facilitate proper monitoring, transparency and accountability in disaster response.
“Early recovery should be integrated into response plans to reduce transition period,’’ it said.
The meeting had participation from relevant MDAs, SEMAs, UN System, International Organisations, Red Cross Movement, Centres for Disaster Management Studies, NGOs CBOs and the media.
The workshop was chaired by the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Mailafiya.