The Executive Secretary, Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Benue State, Mr. Emmanuel Shior has raised alarm over an impending flooding in the state.
Shior raised the alarm during a chat with newsmen in his office in Makurdi on Wednesday.
He said the Agency had been informed by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA of plans to release water from Lagdo Dam, in Cameroon, which would affect the state.
Mr. Shior therefore, advised those living by the river banks and in flood prone areas to get ready to relocate to safer areas to avoid being victims.
The SEMA boss stated that the Agency on its part, has procured some safety kits and made arrangement for makeshift camps as part of measures to mitigate the impact of the flooding when it occurs.
Speaking further, Mr. Shior said the state and federal governments have commenced moves to disengage Internally Displaced Persons IDPs, through an elaborate programme and that a federal government team has already visited the state to assess what is on ground.
He regretted the state’s inability to access funds promised by the federal government for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the victims of herdsmen attacks.
Mr. Shior said through the efforts of the Ortom administration, a good number of the IDPs have returned to their ancestral homes, saying they have received drugs from World Health Organisation, WHO, and other relief materials from ESLF and NEMA among other donor organisations, for the upkeep of the displaced persons.
He also stated that the Agency has got approval from the state Governor to rehabilitate camps that had been ravaged by flooding, promising to continue to carter for the welfare of the IDPs across the state.
