Flood destroys homes, fish ponds, farms in Niger

Homes, fish ponds and vast farmlands have been destroyed by flooding in Muye and adjoining communities in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.

The flood was reportedly caused by the overflow of River Gurara following heavy rainfall recently.

The Etsu Muye, Alhaji Salihu Muhammadu, made this known during an inspection of the progress of construction of a water control wall being undertaken by the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) at the cost of N700 million.

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The traditional ruler decried the slow pace of work and urged the contractors to speed up construction to save the communities as the August rains had begun.

According to him, several fish ponds and farmlands that serve as means of livelihood for the affected communities have been filled with sand.

“Even our market has been taken over by the water. The roads connecting communities have also been cut off. We are calling on the government and the contractor to complete the construction of the water control wall before more damage is done to the communities,” he said.

According to him, the encroachment of the river has threatened the lives and livelihoods of his people, expressing concern over the slow pace of the work.

The Managing Director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, represented by the Director of Finance and Administration, Haruna Jimoh Gabi, said funds had been released to the contractors and attributed the delay to technical hitches.

He said the contractor had been paid a substantial amount of money to execute the project, attributing the slow pace of work to technical hitches.

The Member of the House of Representatives for Agaie/Lapai Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Abdullahi Mahmud, also decried the slow pace of the construction.

“The pace of construction is not encouraging. There is a need to complete the construction of this water control embankment on time to save communities from further disaster,” he said.