The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has said that over 13 lives have so far been lost to flooding in 3 years.
The Permanent Secretary FCT, Mr. Christian Ohaa, stated this when he flagged off the 2019 assessment tour of flood prone Area councils organised by FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The permanent secretary decried the habits of indiscriminate dumping of refuse by residents of Abuja, adding that this is the main cause of flooding in the nation’s capital.
He revealed that the administration has concluded arrangement to strengthen the impact of sanitary inspectors across the six area councils.
He said: “Unfortunately, flooding has become a recurring incident in some of our communities, even in normal rainfall seasons. This is largely due to human influences especially the persistent attitude of residents dumping refuse in drainage system, farming activities by river banks and building on water ways which are violations of laid down environmental laws.
“Years ago, the presence of local sanitary inspectors popularly known as ‘Duran gari’ in Hausa was enough to guarantee proper sanitation and good hygiene in communities; and cases of flooding were uncommon unlike today. Pro ably this was because of the monetary penalties and other consequences of non- compliance imposed on offenders.
“Given the positive impact of Sanitary Inspectors on the environment, the Federal Capital Territory Administration will strengthen their operations across communities six Area Councils in order to enforce strict compliance to issues of sanitation and the land use Act”.
He however affirmed that the administration will not relent in demolition of buildings constructed on waterways in clear violation of relevant laws because of the overall interest of the public safety.
He urged community leaders, to take greater responsibilities in ensuring residents within their domains comply with waste disposal and building regulations.
He therefore commended FEMA for living up to its responsibilities by implementing programmes that is aimed at ensuring safety of lives and property of residents of Abuja.
In his welcome address the Director General of FEMA, revealed that about 13 lives were lost to flooding in Abuja in 3 years.
According to him, “From our statistics, five lives were lost to flood in year 2017 in FCT. In 2018, seven lives were lost out of which two were children that got drown while attempting to swim in a river. So far in 2019, one life has been lost to flood incident.
