President Bola Tinubu during his 64th Independence anniversary speech on Tuesday said he has ordered that integrity tests be carried out on all dams in the country to ‘avert future disasters’.
The president’s order comes after the Alau dam in Maiduguri ruptured on September 10, resulting in the worst flooding the state has experienced in 30 years.
Tinubu said his administration has been responding to natural disasters, particularly the aforementioned flood.
He said: “Our government has been responding to the recent natural disasters, particularly the flooding in parts of the country. Our government has also ordered integrity tests of all our dams in the country to avert future disasters.”
The flood displaced over one million people, who have found shelter in different Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. During their different visits to condole with the people of the state, the president and vice president assured them of their support and approved a Disaster Relief Fund. In his independence speech, Tinubu also emphasised that his administration would always stand with the people in their times of trouble.
“After Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Maiduguri, I also visited to assure our people that this federal government will always stand with our people in their times of trouble. At the last meeting of the Federal Executive Council, we approved a Disaster Relief Fund to mobilise private and public sector funds to help us respond faster to emergencies.
“The economy is undergoing the necessary reforms and retooling to serve us better and more sustainably. If we do not correct the fiscal misalignments that led to the current economic downturn, our country will face an uncertain future and the peril of unimaginable consequences.”
