The Katsina state government has disputed the declaration by the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev that the state is among areas across 31 states with highly probable flood-risk areas for 2024.
Grassroots Parrot had reported how the Minister issued the warning during the official unveiling of the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook in Abuja.
He had cautioned that 148 local government areas across 31 states were among the highly probable flood-risk areas
Reacting to the minister’s declaration on Thursday,in Katsina, the state’s commissioner for environment, Alhaji Musa Adamu Funtua, said the state is set to tackle flooding and natural disasters.
Funtua said contrary to the minister’s declaration, the stated cannot be flood prone.
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The Commissioner said Katsina has already declared her readiness to manage approaching natural disasters and flooding that may be occasioned by the impending rainy season.
He further assured that ongoing construction works designed to tackle natural disasters and environmental challenges were presently nearing competition while some are waiting for commissioning by the Governor of the state.
He said: “The 10km kofa Sauri /Sinkafi ecological drainages, as well as the Katsina gigantic drainage project otherwise called ACCRESAL, the Katsina /Jibia drainage N26b projects were all nearing completion.
‘’What the state government is doing is to identify the problem, consider security reports, engage each local government on flooding contracts supervision and there were 13 new sites with 3 of such sites already completed.”
While announcing that the state presently is rearing to go on environmental management and control, he announced that the government is presently not encountering financial constraints except slowdowns caused by due process