As the rains set in, the FCT Administration Wednesday cautioned residents of the flood trodden Lokogoma in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to stop building on waterways or channels, so as to avert reoccurring deadly flood in the area.
This caution was handed down by the FCTA through its Department of Development Control, Urban and Regional Planning, FCT Emergency Management Department, Water Board, Engineering Services Department of the FCDA and other relevant department, during their Joint Site Visit (JSV) to areas of challenges and special interests in the city.
In their separate interviews with newsmen after the exercise, they unanimously agreed that the proactive and periodic steps taken by government agencies and other stakeholder, as it is just an ad hoc measure to safeguard lives and properties, as permanent solution to flooding problem is provision of engineering infrastructure.
Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, who led the team to the sites, stated that the department intends to remove all those encroachments on the waterways.
Galadima also added that beyond removing identified encroachments, it intends to use its machines and equipment to see how it expands the water channels, so that water can have an easy flow.
He said: “We have marked them to stop any further encroachment, and we are going to remove those identified encroachments in the area.
“But, this is enough notice that they should stop any building on waterways especially those trying to rebuild demolished structures in the highly prone areas.
“Lokogoma axis is an area that everybody in Abuja knows about when it comes to flooding, so in order to be proactive, that’s why we invited all relevant stakeholders, departments and agencies to come, and put our heads together on what we can do to safeguard lives and properties.”