He Has Exacerbated The Problem – Kingibe Blames Wike For Abuja Flooding

The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial district, Senator Ireti Kingibe, has opened up on the reason for flooding in Abuja.

She explained that the FCT administration had departed from its master plan, adding that construction on green areas, flood channels, and floodplains had blocked waterways, thereby causing flooding.

Naija News reports that Kingibe made the disclosure during an appearance on Arise News on Monday.

She explained that she has written to relevant FCT agencies about the continued construction on green areas, flood channels, and floodplains.

“Most definitely. Some of the development approved under the current FCT administration is actually increasing Abuja’s flood risk. I’ve been singing the song about the green areas, the gullies, the flood channels, flood plains, because I see them being built on. I’ve been complaining that Development Control cannot give permission for these things to happen. But it’s happening, and this is the result. If you go to Wuse Zone 6, some sort of residential project is being built on the sewage line. The whole place stinks. So it’s a health risk,” she lamented.

She highlighted further: “A lot of the gullies, even in Asokoro, not too far from the home of the Senate President, there’s a flood channel that has been built on. There’s a whole list of them.

“Jabi Park is a park, a public park. Now, the greenery, even if you go around just on the side of the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, there’s a gully there, a very deep one, that has now been fenced off to be used for something, I don’t know what.

“So at the end of the day, when it rains, especially as there are rocks all around Abuja, when the water starts coming down, there’s nowhere for them to flow into because all their paths are closed. Even the flood channels that are not completely closed off have become so narrow that the water can’t really properly pass. So you can’t construct on every space in a city, especially since the city had a master plan that totally contradicts that.

“My letter was to Development Control, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, as well as the FCDA, because they are the primary agencies whose responsibility it is to take care of these problems.”

She explained that her concerns about Abuja’s infrastructure began before her disagreement with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, adding that she has pointed out the dangers of green areas and the potential for flooding long before the current situation emerged.

“From the beginning, I’ve always reiterated and said there’s been no reason for there to be political conflict on my part. Last December, I complained about green areas and potential for flooding. Even a year before that, I made several complaints before these things started materialising. Maybe as an engineer, I could see the potential. When I first became a senator, I called the head of Development Control and spoke to him about these concerns. So it’s not personal to the minister,” she said.

She admitted that Abuja’s flooding predates the incumbent administration, but argued that successive ministers made it worse.

The lawmaker maintained that the situation had been significantly worsened over the past three to four years under Wike.

“Obviously, yes, there was a problem. It didn’t start with him, but he has definitely exacerbated that problem immensely,” she stated.

On measures to combat the situation, Kingibe called for the clearing of rubbish and drains to prevent waste from blocking waterways during heavy rainfall.