The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), has warned that about 445 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 32 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Abuja would experience heavy flooding in 2022 rainy season.
Engr. Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, who announced this on Thursday in Abuja, while unveiling the 2022 Annual Flood Outlook Report published by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency.
He said 233 LGAs in 32 States would face what he described as “highly probable flooding” while 212 LGAs across 35 States are at risk of “moderate flooding” during the 2022 rainy season.
He added that Lagos, Edo, Delta, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Abia and the FCT are among those at the risk of ‘highly probable flooding’ during the year
According to him,57 Local Government Area will likely experience highly probable flooding between April and June while 220 others will witness highly probably flooding between July and September.
He added that eight states, including Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun and Imo states will experience coastal flooding during the year on account of rise in sea level and tidal surge, which will impact on fishing, wildlife habitation and river navigation.
He said urban flooding will also be experienced in cities such as Lagos, Kaduna, Suleja, Gombe, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Benin and Lokoja, among others.
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Onyema, Others Get National Merit Award
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday honoured Mr. Allen Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace and other distinguished Nigerians with the National Merit Award.
Onyema was honoured by the president for providing jobs to thousands of Nigerians and also for his humanitarian activities,according to a statement
Also honoured are other business moguls in Nigeria, including Chief Mike Adenuga, the Chairman of Globacom, Jim Ovia, the Founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Abdulsamad Rabiu, the Founder of BUA Group and Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, a renowned farmer and currently the Chairman of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr. Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Federal Government was also recongised with National Merit Award for the role he played during the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Onyema established Air Peace in 2014 and in less than 10 years the airline grown to be the biggest in West Africa and has employed over 3,000 Nigerians.
He is a renowned entrepreneur who came into the consciousness of Nigerians in 2019 when he evacuated hundreds of Nigerians from South Africa during xenophobic attacks when South African blacks were killing other blacks in their country.
Since then he has made other interventions for the country’s citizens,the statement said.
During the lockdown, Air Peace evacuated many Nigerians from different parts of the world that were unable to pay for tickets to take them back to the country.
The airline evacuated Nigerians from India, Thailand, Malaysia and some other African countries.
Onyema has been involved in many social investments, which have impacted Nigerians in various ways, especially the deployment of aircraft for rescue flights during lockdown in 2020, corporate philanthropy, massive employment, and other social impact initiatives.
Prior to the establishment of Air Peace, he started the peace initiative that led to the end of violent militancy in the Niger Delta through his Nonviolence Transformation Programmes and he is unequivocally a firm believer in the oneness and unity of Nigeria and nationalist who is constantly using his God-given resources to promote the harmonious co-existence of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic nationalities.
He has also made successful strides in advancing Nigeria’s aviation industry, including being the launch customer of the Embraer 195-E2 airplanes in the whole of Africa.
