Agency releases 2018 flood outlooks in 35 states

• Projects high water level in Rivers Niger, Benue

THE Nigeria Hydrological Agency (NHSA) has released the 2018 flood outlooks in 35 states in the country.

The outlook projected that Sokoto, Niger, Benue, Anambra, Niger Delta, Anambra, Ogun-osun, Cross-river and Yobe states would have high risks of river flooding.

It also indicated that Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo states may likely experience coastal flooding.

It attributed this to a likely rise in the sea level and tidal surge, which would impact fishing and coastal transportation.

The outlook, which is a yearly projection by the agency, further indicated that flash and urban flood were expected to occur in Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Yola, Abuja, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Calabar, Jos, Owerri, Oshogho and Ilorin.

Others are Awka, Abakaliki, Birnin-kebbi, Kano, Yonogoa, Abeokuta, Ado-ekiti, Lokoja, Lafia, Nsuka and Gombe.

Also included are Suleja, Karu, Nyanya, Abaji, Onitsha, Sapele, Hadejia and other major cities with poor drainage.

The Minister of Water Resource, Suleiman Adamu presented the outlook. He explained that going by the 2018 AFO, water levels on the River Niger and Benue among other major river system, would rise and remain high during the rainy season

He raised concern that some dams in the country are getting silted up, with the storage capacity also reducing.

He said this would cause a lot of the water to be spilled through the waterways.

The Acting Director General of NHSA, Olayinka Ogunwale, also stressed that out of the 35 states, 318 local government areas would be affected, while about 78 of them would have high risk of floods.

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Aformer Governor of Anambra State; Mr. Peter Obi has enjoined students to always remain focused in their endeavor. He made the call yesterday during his visit to St. Peter’s Secondary School, Garaku, in Nasarawa State.

Obi who started the day with Mass of Ascension with the students, told them that they were the future of the country. He charged them to see themselves as being part of that future, by making

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personal efforts at growth and development.

He said this commitment should be nurtured through education, which he described as the most portent tool for competition in the world.

Obi said the history of development was conterminous with education, adding that Nigeria had not fared well because it lacks proper investment in education.

He said: “We live in a country where, rather than taking funds committed to education as investment, Nigerian leaders consider them as expenditure, thus removing the sector from being treated as a necessity.”

Responding, the Catholic Bishop of Lafia, represented by the Principal of the school, Fr. Marcellinus Sa’aondo, lauded Obi for the visit.

He said: “We are indeed privileged to host a mod-