Flooding: FG approves N80bn for reconstruction, expansion of Alau Dam
The federal government has approved the sum of N80 billion for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Alau Dam in Maiduguri, Borno State, to check the incidences of flooding in the state. The Minister of Water Resources, Professor Joseph Utsev, disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed […]
The federal government has approved the sum of N80 billion for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Alau Dam in Maiduguri, Borno State, to check the incidences of flooding in the state.
The Minister of Water Resources, Professor Joseph Utsev, disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday.
The minister told State House reporters that the inter-ministerial committee that was set up in September 2024 for the evaluation of dams in Nigeria had submitted its interim report to the federal government.
He said the committee consisted of the ministers of Finance, Environment, Works, Information and the National Security Adviser with the Water Resources Minister as chairman.
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Recall that the committee was inaugurated in October 2024 with the mandate of assessing all dams in the country and come up with recommendations of how best the dams could be put to use, the areas of water supply, flood control, irrigation and fish farming, among others.
The minister said, “Today, the interim report was presented to the Federal Executive Council. The Alau dam is very critical. We saw some challenges as a result of flooding on the 10th of September last year.
“So, the designs, analysis and everything of that particular dam, Alau Dam, was done and presented to the subcommittee, and that report was made before Mr President, and Mr President graciously gave approval of N80 billion for the reconstruction and expansion of Alau dam in Maiduguri, Borno State. “He added that the committee work is still ongoing, saying “Reports of the remaining 34 dams are ongoing, the assessment is ongoing, it will be presented to the Federal Executive Council and the entire Nigerians.
“So, as it stands now, the approval for the rehabilitation of Alau Dam has been done by Mr President, which is awaiting ratification of the Federal Executive Council when all other due processes are being observed.
“The Borno State government is working with the subcommittee and members of the Nigerian Security Advisory Office. They are working together to kick-start that project, and we believe that between now and July this year, the first component of that work will be established, so that this year there will be no flooding in Maiduguri again.”
He said the other components will commence by December this year and the project is supposed to last for a period of 24 months.