The Niger State Government has issued another warning for communities living along flood plains to move to higher grounds, just as an early morning rain on Sunday, washed away farm lands in Lapai and Paikoro local governments.
In Lapai LG, a total of 18 communities were affected where some farm lands were washed away while many others are said to be at the risk of being swept away.
Communities like Dere, Eshi, Apataku, Tsakanabi, Kuchi Kakanda, Arah, Achiba, Rebba, Ebwa, Pele, Edda, Rigido, Gbami, Yawa, Baka, and Muye are currently among the flood risk areas.
Just as in Paikoro LG, farm lands in Kafin Koro area were also destroyed by the early morning rain.
The state government, in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication Media and Strategy Jonathan Vatsa urged the affected communities to immediately relocate to safer places to avoid further disaster in the state.
The Governor’s aide explained that though the government understands the attachment communities have to their ancestral homes, there is a need for them to adhere to the warning and relocate pending the end of the rainy season.
According to him, “The Mokwa experience is still very much with us and we can not afford a repeat of such experience. That is why the government is urging the people to move to a higher ground”.
Vatsa revealed that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, had previously highlighted 15 out of the 25 LGs in the State as very vulnerable to flooding every raining season.
Recall that the Federal Government has instructed residents in four LGs of the state to move to safer locations as heavy rainfall is expected to trigger flooding between July 31 and August 4, 2025.
This latest directive by the federal government follows a flood alert issued by the National Flood Early Warning Centre under the Federal Ministry of Environment, which stated that communities in Rijau, Sarkin Pawa, Suleja, and Mashegu are at high risk of flooding during the forecast period.
The warning is contained in a statement titled “Flood Prediction”, signed by Usman Bokani, Director of Erosion, Flood, and Coastal Zone Management Department, where he called on relevant authorities to take proactive measures to mitigate disaster impacts.
Vatsa then called on traditional rulers, community and religious leaders to join government to further sensitize the people especially those in flood prone communities.
