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Tag: River Benue

  • Bodies of two BSU students found in River Benue

    THE bodies of two students of Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi, who drowned in River Benue on Friday have been found by a search and rescue team.

    The two students are Adakole Christopher, a 100 level Math, and Computer Science student and Miss Emmanuellla Mson, a 100 Level Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)  student.

    The Nation learnt that the deceased  had joined three other students for swimming in River Benue.

    However, it all turned sad when the two students swam deep into the river and were drowned.

    The three remaining students rushed back to the campus, which is located on the bank of River Benue, and reported the incident to the school authorities.

    But, this was very late into the night, which hampered rescue operation.

    The following day – Saturday, the body of Christopher was first found. It was immediately buried at the bank of River Benue, in accordance with Idoma tradition.

    The deceased was Idoma  and according to traditions, drowned persons are buried at the bank of the river, where their bodies are found, to prevent reoccurrence of such in the family.

    The body of Miss Emmanuella Mson has also been found.

    Miss Emmanuella hailed from Gboko Local Government Area in Benue State.

    The Vice-Chancellor of BSU, Prof. Msugh Kembe, who confirmed the incident in an interview with The Nation at his lodge, described it as “unfortunate and sad”.

    The vice-chancellor said the university sympathised with the family, students and relations of the deceased.

    The university has set up a committee to probe the remote and immediate cause of the incident.

    Prof. Kembe added that students had been warned not to swim in River Benue without a guide or life jackets during orientation.

    He hailed the  Marine Police and President of the Student Union Government (SUG) of BSU Kizito Wachihi Joseph, who mobilised a search and rescue team of students and others, who found the bodies.

    Wachihi described the incident as “unfortunate” and “black day for BSU students”.

    He prayed to God to grant the deceased students eternal rest.

  • Flood: Adamawa victims call for urgent intervention

    Persons affected by recent flood disasters in Adamawa have appealed to the Federal Government to come to their aid to ease their hardship.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that between July and September this year, thousands of people were affected by the flood in 18 out of 21 local government areas of the state.

    Findings revealed that majority of the affected communities were those located close to River Benue.

    Majority of the victims are currently living as IDPs in temporary camps provided by state government across the state.

    In separate interviews with NAN in Fufore ,Yola South and Girei Local Government Areas, the victims said they lost almost all their belongings to the flood.

    Mr. John Garba ,a rice farmer from Njoboliyo village in Fufore said he lost all his property in early August this year due to heavy downpour that caused the flood.

    ” Following the heavy flood in August this year, I lost my house and three of my rice farmlands.

    ” Since then, I and my family have been squatting in my neighbours’ house and had not received any assistance from anybody,” he lamented.

    Alhaji Usman Barde, a large scale rice and maize farmer from Girei area , equally said that the flood had submerged his maize farms.

    ” Last year ,I harvested over five hundred bags of maize, but this year, due to the flood disaster , it will be difficult for me to harvest even one hundred bags ” Barde said.

    Read Also: Osinbajo visits Bayelsa, Rivers flood victims

    Also lamenting, Malam Umar Hassan , a resident of Yolde-Pate village in Yola South said that the flood completely destroyed his house.

    Hassan said he had been forced to take refuge in one of the temporary camp set up by State Emergency Management Agency in Yolde-Pate. and had not received any assistance from government.

    Reacting, Dr Muhammad Sulaiman, Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) said a total of 357, 343 individuals, 7,893 Houses and 95,474 farmlands were affected.

    He said that the State Emergency Management Agency had forwarded the information to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for possible intervention.

    When contacted about the development, Mr Slako Lugard, the NEMA Head of Emergency Operation Centres ( EOC) in charge of Adamawa ,Benue and Taraba said that they had carried out inspections and assessment of all the affected areas in Adamawa.

    ” We have submitted our findings to the headquarters and are waiting for their response to enable us reach out to the victims. ” Lugard said.

  • Fed Govt to dredge River Benue

    Fed Govt to dredge River Benue

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said the Federal Government will dredge River Benue to avert flood in Benue State.

    Osinbajo, who spoke yesterday in Makurdi while inspecting areas ravaged by flood, said the Federal Government would build drainages to solve flooding in Makurdi and its environs.

    He said the President is concerned about flood and sympathised with the victims.

    The Vice-President, who spoke in Makurdi International Market, said the government would give succour to displaced persons.

    Governor Samuel Ortom, who conducted Vice-President Osinbajo round affected areas, said the people were happy with the Federal Government’s response to the disaster.

    He hailed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for sending relief materials to victims and praised the assistance given by Nasarawa State government, well-meaning individuals and organisations, saying these have strengthened his administration’s resolve to provide succour for victims.

    The Vice-President inspected Idye stream, which overflowed its banks during rainy season, causing flood.

    He also inspected a clinic established by the Air Force at Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camp.

    Osinbajo was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe; Works, Power and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola;  Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril and NEMA’s Director-General Mustapha Maihaja.

  • Flood looms as River Niger, Benue, Kainji Dam overflow

    Flood looms as River Niger, Benue, Kainji Dam overflow

    The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has warned of an imminent flood following the overflow of various banks of River Niger, River Benue, Kainji Dam and the Confluence of water bodies in Lokoja.

    The water bodies, NIHSA said, overflowed their banks on Monday, August 8, 2016

    The Director-General of the agency, Moses Beckley, in a statement issued Abuja said various agencies were currently struggling to impound the floods, which in a matter of days shall be felt in many more locations across the country.

    NIHSA warned that the flooding situations at the upper reach of the River Niger portended imminent danger for Nigeria in the coming weeks and months.

    According to the statement, the agency is responsible for monitoring all the major rivers in Nigeria including the Transboundary Rivers Niger and Benue respectively.

    Beckley said information from the regional Niger Basin Authority with headquarters in Niamey, Niger Republic, warns of imminent flooding incident in Nigeria of the magnitude comparable to that of 2012 flood.

    The NBA is a regional body of nine member-countries in the West and Central Africa, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Tchad.

    At a global level, this regional cooperation body monitors the river flows and socio-economic developments within the river systems in these countries, and shares information/data among member countries.

    According to NIHSA, it was on this basis that the secretariat of the NBA notified Nigeria that rainy season which started in the Middle Niger (Burkina Faso and Niger Republic) in June, 2016, had led to a gradual rise of the level of River Niger in Niamey, Niger Republic.

    The statement said: “This high level of water in Niger Republic is already spreading to Benin Republic, and invariably, to Nigeria. As at 2nd August, 2016, the Yellow Warning Line of 5.30m corresponding to 1,700m3/s flow rate has been reached and exceeded in Niamey, Niger Republic.

    “According to the information, if the heavy rainfall continues in intensity and duration within these regions of the River Niger, it is imminent that flood situation similar to that of year 2012 may occur. It takes approximately nine days for the propagation of peak floods from Niamey to Nigeria (Jidere Bode, Kebbi State).

    “The above observation transmitted to Nigeria is in tandem with the records from our monitoring stations at critical locations on Rivers Niger and Benue, as well as their tributaries within the Nigerian portion of the Niger Basin. The water levels are rising gradually at most of our stations.”

    “Specifically, the water level at Jidere Bode (Kebbi State), our first monitoring station as River Niger enters Nigeria, is 3.77m high as at 8th August, 2016, which has exceeded the 3.32m value observed on 8th August, 2012. Also on the same day, the level of water at the Kainji reservoir is 132.62m, which is higher than the value recorded about this time in 2012.

    “Presently impoundment of water for hydropower generation is taking place at the dam. It is expected that inflows from upstream of the River Niger would be accommodated by Kainji Dam before it starts spilling to Jebba Dam once the level gets to 141.73m. At our monitoring station in Wuro-Boki, Adamawa State, the first monitoring station as River Benue enters Nigeria, the water level has risen to 5.36m as at 8th August, 2016, as against 4.88m recorded on 8th August, 2012.”

    NIHSA noted that although there was presently no water releases from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, the heavy rainfall being witnessed within the catchment of River Benue had caused the water level to be on the increase.

    It stated that as at August 8, 2016, its monitoring station at Makurdi recorded an alarming 9.20m height in water level, as against 9.17m recorded on August 8, 2012.

    “Based on this, we wish to alert the general public that the Middle Niger (Niger Republic & Burkina Faso, upstream of Nigeria) is already flooded after the magnitude of the flood experienced in that region in 2012. This situation portends danger for Nigeria where there are many active tributaries to River Niger that contributes quite heavily to flooding incidents.

    “At the Confluence in Lokoja, the water level as at 8th August, 2016, is 7.74m, which has exceeded the 7.72m recorded value on 8th August, 2012. This value is sending a strong signal to dwellers within the flood plains to relocate immediately to safer and higher grounds.

    “Downstream of Lokoja at Onitsha, the water level has risen to an alarming height of 9.16m. This value is expected to increase with time. Therefore, residents along the Habour Bridge Head and industrial activities within the Habour Industrial Layout, Onitsha, should be on the lookout.”

     

  • River Benue dredging to cost N26b

    River Benue dredging to cost N26b

    • To be completed in two years

    The Federal Government has awarded a N26 billion con-tract for the dredging of lower River Benue to ease movement of cargoes from the ports to other parts of the country.

    Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Acting Managing Director Mr Danladi Ibrahim, who broke the news in Lagos, said the contract was awarded to Messr Oyins Oil and Gas Limited.

    He said: “We have awarded the dredging of lower river Benue for a tune of N26 billion. Also, the dredging of the lower river Niger is completed and quite a number of boats and jetties are under construction. We are all aware that we have completed the Onitsha river port and it will be concessioned to the private sector to operate any time from now.

    “Baro is 95 per cent completed; Lokoja is about 60 per cent as well as Oguta port. We have awarded the construction of Markurdi river’s port and any moment from now, it will take off.”

    Ibrahim said the major challenge facing the agency was funds, unfolding the plans to transform the parastatal to make it financially independent in the next few years.

    The plans, according to him, include the development of a multi-story office complex in Lagos, for revenue generation; the introduction of hover-barge technology in their operation and carrying along critical stakeholders.

    He promised that NIWA would collaborate with the governments of the riverine states to provide efficient inland waterways services.

    “As it relates to the conflict between NIWA and some state governments, we have issues with many states like Lagos, Rivers and Bayelsa but we are ready to engage them and collaborate with them to promote out services.

    “What we intend to do this time around, is to collaborate with these states. Any moment from now, we will be visiting all the states’ governors that we have issues with and collaborate.

    “We believe that by collaborating, this issue will be resolved and inland waterways will be used optimally. Instead of engaging in legal tussles and conflicts, I don’t see any reason  states and Federal Government cannot collaborate to develop the economy,” Ibrahim said.

    Ibrahim said the agency was also collaborating with a Dubai-based company to develop its Lagos Area Office into a multi-purpose edifice to provide world-class service and comfort.

    “We intend to have a 45–storey office tower here in Lagos and in it, we will have about five floors of super shopping malls and 10 floors of car parks attached to it, because it is a kind of inter-modal transportation system, we will have a train station that will link this edifice.

    “The government intends to have a metro station here and there will also be a modern jetty. This will be in partnership with a company in Dubai on a public-private partnership arrangement,” he said, adding that jobs would be created in the sub-sector as management plans to encourage private sector investments in deploying Hover crafts and Hover barges  that can be used to transport travellers and cargoes from the ports,” he said.

     

  • River Benue dredging to cost N26b

    River Benue dredging to cost N26b

    • To be completed in two years

    The Federal Government has awarded a N26 billion con-tract for the dredging of lower River Benue to ease movement of cargoes from the ports to other parts of the country.

    Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Acting Managing Director Mr Danladi Ibrahim, who broke the news in Lagos, said the contract was awarded to Messr Oyins Oil and Gas Limited.

    He said: “We have awarded the dredging of lower river Benue for a tune of N26 billion. Also, the dredging of the lower river Niger is completed and quite a number of boats and jetties are under construction. We are all aware that we have completed the Onitsha river port and it will be concessioned to the private sector to operate any time from now.

    “Baro is 95 per cent completed; Lokoja is about 60 per cent as well as Oguta port. We have awarded the construction of Markurdi river’s port and any moment from now, it will take off.”

    Ibrahim said the major challenge facing the agency was funds, unfolding the plans to transform the parastatal to make it financially independent in the next few years.

    The plans, according to him, include the development of a multi-story office complex in Lagos, for revenue generation; the introduction of hover-barge technology in their operation and carrying along critical stakeholders.

    He promised that NIWA would collaborate with the governments of the riverine states to provide efficient inland waterways services.

    “As it relates to the conflict between NIWA and some state governments, we have issues with many states like Lagos, Rivers and Bayelsa but we are ready to engage them and collaborate with them to promote out services.

    “What we intend to do this time around, is to collaborate with these states. Any moment from now, we will be visiting all the states’ governors that we have issues with and collaborate.

    “We believe that by collaborating, this issue will be resolved and inland waterways will be used optimally. Instead of engaging in legal tussles and conflicts, I don’t see any reason  states and Federal Government cannot collaborate to develop the economy,” Ibrahim said.

    Ibrahim said the agency was also collaborating with a Dubai-based company to develop its Lagos Area Office into a multi-purpose edifice to provide world-class service and comfort.

    “We intend to have a 45–storey office tower here in Lagos and in it, we will have about five floors of super shopping malls and 10 floors of car parks attached to it, because it is a kind of inter-modal transportation system, we will have a train station that will link this edifice.

    “The government intends to have a metro station here and there will also be a modern jetty. This will be in partnership with a company in Dubai on a public-private partnership arrangement,” he said, adding that jobs would be created in the sub-sector as management plans to encourage private sector investments in deploying Hover crafts and Hover barges  that can be used to transport travellers and cargoes from the ports,” he said.