Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has urged the Federal Government to collaborate with states to dredge the major rivers across the country to prevent flooding.
The governor made the call on Thursday while hosting members of the Presidential Technical Committee on Flood Management in Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, noted that the committee has embarked on the development of a comprehensive plan of action to prevent flooding in Nigeria.
According to him, “The time has come for the Federal Government to ensure the dredging of major rivers nationwide and there is a need for more collaboration between federal and state agencies towards ensuring that major flooding incidences are reduced to the barest minimum.”
“Dredging the major rivers will reduce the vulnerability of coastal states to flooding issues as experienced by many states last year and the FG should take cognisance of the fact that Rivers Niger, Benue, and Ogun among others, overflow to states close to them once they rise.”
In his remarks, the leader of the Presidential Technical Committee, Godstime James, explained that the committee which was set up in 2021 has been mandated to check each state’s policies on flooding, establish causes of flooding and come up with solutions and strategies to minimise its impact on citizens.
