The states bordering the Benue River have been advised to step up their alertness by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, or NIHSA.
Call is made in response to the administration of Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam’s continued plan to release the dam’s water.
A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Director General of the NIHSA, Umar Ibrahim Mohamed, stated that the following states are likely to be impacted by the dam’s water flow: Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers. The statement was made available to journalists on Tuesday.
Additionally, the agency urged all levels of government to put in place sufficient preparations to lessen the possibility of flooding at this time due to rising river levels.
According to the statement, the water release will start at a rate of 100 cubic meters per second (8.64 million cubic meters per day) and is anticipated to increase gradually over the next seven days to 1,000 cubic meters per second, contingent on inflows from the upstream Garoua River, which serves as the reservoir’s primary feeder and a major contributor to the Benue River.
“The Cameroonian dam authorities assured NIHSA that the water releases will be regulated to avoid exceeding the capacity of the Benue River and triggering major flooding downstream in Nigeria.
“The controlled water releases will cease once there is a noticeable decrease in inflow into the Lagdo reservoir,” the statement read.
Since major flooding was not expected downstream in Nigeria, the NIHSA stressed that there was no immediate need for concern and that the current water levels along the Benue River remained below safe limits.
In order to avert any catastrophes caused by flooding, the agency also gave the public the assurance that it would keep a careful eye on the water levels along the Benue and other national inland rivers and would provide frequent updates.
