Anxiety in Benue as Cameroon sheds excess water from Lagdo Dam… 

Tension has gripped the people of Benue State, as news of the release of excess water from Lagdo Dam by Cameroonian authorities hit the state.

Principal Special Assistant (Media and Publicity/Strategic Communications) to the Governor, Bridget Ikyado, yesterday, quoted the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as saying that the states, where flooding is being expected, include Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Delta and Bayelsa.

According to the statement, the nine states, which have communities along the banks of River Benue, may be affected by the excess water from Lagdo Dam, which is expected to last till the end of October.

Ikyado noted that NEMA Director-General, Mustapha Ahmed, had also cautioned states and local councils along the River Niger and Benue basins to immediately activate their emergency response plans to avert colossal damage.

The Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), James Iorpuu, he said the state government was still mapping out modalities and would communicate to the public today.

He, however, assured that the government was not resting on its oars, and that modalities were in the pipeline to cushion the effect of the impending flood.