2024 Budget: Lawmakers seek funds for River Benue Project, Dam

The Nigerian Legislature has urged the Federal Government to ensure that money for the dredging of the River Benue Project and the construction of the Dasin Hausa Dam is appropriated into the 2024 Budget.

At the plenary on Monday, the Senate believed the project and the construction of the Dam, in Fufore, Adamawa State would check the devastating effects of flooding on communities along the banks in the State.

The Legislators arrived at the decisions in response to a motion presented during plenary titled ”Needs to prevent loss of lives caused by floods and undredged River Benue In Adamawa State,” sponsored by Senator Representing Adamawa Central Senatorial District Senator Aminu Abbas.

Senator Abbas who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science, Technology and Innovations made the call while speaking on an existing motion on the floor of the Nigerian Senate on the need to provide lasting solutions to floods in about seven local government areas of Adamawa state.

The lawmaker who said the dredging of River Benue, by the Federal Government, became necessary to check the colossal damage, usually associated to flooding in the affected communities which include: Furore, Yola North, Yola South, Girei in Adamawa Central and Numan, Lamurde and Demsa in Adamawa South.

According to him, the affected LGAs reside along the bank of River Benue, and that whenever the authorities of Cameron Republic release water from Lagdo Dam coupled with rainfall, the river will overflow and cause flooding.

“River Benue is an international river flowing into Nigeria from the high land of Northern Cameroon through Jimeta In Adamawa State, Makurdi In Benue State and finally meets River Niger at Lokoja.” 

He lamented that the natural disaster claims several lives and destroys property worth millions of naira annually, saying that the only solution to recurrent flooding is the dredging of River Benue and the timely construction of Dasin Hausa Dam.

Senator Abbas who narrated the ordeal of the victims of the annual flooding and recent boat mishap urged the Federal Government to embark on dredging of River Benue to address the problem permanently.

“On Wednesday 1 November 2023, 32 people were on board trying to cross the river at Garin Alaji near Chikito village where the boat capsized but only 7 bodies were discovered and five rescued alive, the remaining are unaccounted for up till now in addition to the earlier reported case where 53 people lost their lives in the same river,” Senator Abbas said.

He equally called on the relevant authorities, to urgently come to the aid of the victims, with the provision of relief materials to alleviate their sufferings.

In their resolutions, the Senate urged the Federal Government to facilitate the inclusion of the dredging of the River Benue Project In the 2024 Appropriation Bill to address the problems of flooding.