The technical committee reassessing the integrity of Alau Dam in Borno State and other dams nationwide will present its findings to President Bola Tinubu in December, The PUNCH learnt.
The report will include detailed designs and recommendations for the overall reconstruction of the 38-year-old dam for future use.
“In the next month, that report will be ready,” the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, told our correspondent in an interview on Sunday.
At the 17th Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on September 23, 2024, the Federal Government established a technical committee to reassess the integrity of Alau Dam in Borno State and other similar structures nationwide.
Utsev, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said the directive followed extensive discussions on flooding across the country with emphasis on Maiduguri.
Announcing the new task, the minister said, “Today, the Federal Executive Council has constituted the committee to examine not only the Alau Dam but also other dams in the country, reassess them and make recommendations that will solve the challenge of flooding and also make use of the available dams.”
He did not state the amount earmarked for the exercise or the timeframe the committee was given to conclude its assignment.
Earlier that month, Maiduguri was inundated with floods as deteriorated portions of the Alau Dam were overridden by heavy rains.
The rapid-moving water affected more than 23,000 households and ravaged major city locations, including the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Umar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi; the state secretariat, post office, cemetery, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, among others.
The President was also in Maiduguri to assess flood-devastated communities.
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