FEMA seeks stronger collaborations with FCDA against flooding

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has called for stronger collaborations with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to address flooding in the FCT.

The director-general of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, made the appeal when he led a management team of the Agency on a courtesy call to the major technical partners, FCDA in the development and management of the FCT.

Idriss, who stated that FEMA, as a coordinating agency on both human and material resources on disaster management and emergencies has some limitations, noted that such a partnership would greatly reduce the devastating impact of floods in the FCT.

“Previous assessment shows infractions, diversion of water, building on water ways, and many other distortions to the Abuja Master plan. If we are going to build, let us build based on the building codes. FCDA as the custodian of the development of Abuja should bring all stakeholders together to do the needful in addressing these distortions,” he said.

Responding, the executive secretary of the FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, assured of his commitment to work with FEMA to remove all illegal developments along flood plains.

Noting that unscrupulous developers were erecting structures in undesignated areas, thereby distorting the master plan, the executive secretary vowed that such buildings would be demolished.