The Nasarawa State Government says it has intensified sensitisation to flood-prone local government areas to mitigate flood disasters in the state.
Mr Yakubu Kwanta, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, said this during the Monthly Sanitation on Saturday, August 31, 2024, in Lafia, the state capital.
Kwanta, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Garba-Rosha Mohammed, said that the ministry had gone to flood-prone communities to sensitise them to the need for early evacuation, in the event of flooding.
He said that Nasarawa State was among the states that the Federal Government, in the administration of President Bola Tinubu, graciously gave N3 billion toward mitigating flooding.
“As you know, Gov. Abdullahi Sule is a transparent person, he will ensure that the fund is utilised judiciously, especially for what it is meant for.
“We have been creating awareness on flooding and the need for early evacuation from the flood-prone areas, we have automated machines in the flood-prone local government areas that have connected to our phones.
“Anytime the alarm is shown to us that there will be flooding, we start telling these people to evacuate to a safer place,” Kwanta said.
He applauded the level of compliance on sanitation and called for sustenance in the state.
“We appreciate the Emir of Lafia for his support, supervision, and participation, we also thank the community people and stakeholders for their participation in keeping their environment clean.
“Actually, we went round with the media, we have seen what people are doing, the compliance was 85 per cent.
“Honestly, we are glad to see how people are passionately responding to this exercise,” the commissioner said.
Kwanta said that sanitation inspectors were deployed to supervise the evacuation of the drains and culverts for easy flow of water to prevent flood and other devastating effects on the environment.
Dr Abubakar Mohammed, the Chief Prosecutor Officer of the sanitation, said that 86 sanitation defaulters were arrested.
Mohammed, who is also the Director, Enforcement and Compliances, at Nasarawa State Waste Management and Sanitation Authority, said that some arrests made in the cause of the sanitation were mostly motorists and tricycles.
“We summon the Chairman of Tricycle Riders Association for not informing his people before the sanitation, even though he is part of the team,” he said,
Mohammed gave the breakdown of the arrest in the local governments to include: Lafia 12, Doma 15, Nasarawa Eggon 12, Karu 35, Keffi 12, noting that they would be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
By Oboh Linus
