Funmi Ogundare
Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, yesterday, blamed the worsening flooding in Abuja on the construction of buildings and other structures on green areas, floodplains, gullies and natural drainage channels, warning that the continued development is increasing the FCT’s vulnerability to flooding.
She stated that several natural waterways and drainage corridors across Abuja had either been blocked, narrowed or built over, leaving rainwater with fewer channels through which to flow.
Speaking in an interview on AriseTV Primetime, the senator explained that she had written to the Development Control Department, Abuja Environmental Protection Board and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), demanding that the agencies identify the affected areas and provide both immediate and long-term solutions to the problem.
The request, she noted, was prompted by her inspections of several locations where she observed developments allegedly taking place on drainage and sewage corridors.
“There’s a channel in Maitama that’s now being built over,” Kingibe said, adding that she had also visited Wuse Zone six, where she found sewage allegedly coming out of the ground around a residential development.
She further cited a flood channel in Asokoro, a floodplain in Mabushi and areas around Jabi Park, among others, where she alleged that construction activities were encroaching on spaces originally intended to accommodate water flow.
According to her, the situation has become particularly dangerous because Abuja’s terrain allows water to flow rapidly from surrounding rocky areas during heavy rainfall.
“When the water starts coming down, there’s nowhere for them to flow into because all their paths are blocked,” she said.
Kingibe, a civil engineer, also faulted what she described as poor road construction and drainage practices, arguing that roads could not simply be scraped and resurfaced without observing the engineering specifications required for proper drainage.
She stated that some roads in Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse and Garki had experienced drainage problems after being redone.
The senator maintained that the problem was not entirely the responsibility of the current FCT administration, acknowledging that the encroachment on Abuja’s green areas began under previous administrations.
However, she accused the present administration of exacerbating the situation by allowing further development on areas that were originally protected under Abuja’s master plan.
“Giving away the green areas did not start with him. There were previous ministers who did that,” she said, adding that in the last three to four years, practically all the green areas have disappeared.
Kingibe said Abuja’s original master plan was designed to preserve green areas, flood channels and other spaces necessary for the city’s environmental sustainability.
She criticised the continued development of such spaces, saying Abuja was gradually losing the character of a planned city.
Referring to an upcoming conference themed: ‘From Garden City to Country Jungle’, she said the description reflected the transformation she had witnessed in the capital since moving there in 1989.
The senator also rejected suggestions that her criticism of the FCT administration was primarily political, insisting that her concerns about flooding and urban development predated her current disagreements with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
According to her, she had repeatedly raised concerns about the encroachment on green areas and flood channels, including before the current flooding crisis became prominent.
Kingibe said she had also previously raised concerns in the Senate over the allocation and revocation of green areas, leading to the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter.
She expressed disappointment that the committee, to her knowledge, did not sit, while the allocation and development of green areas continued.
She stressed that her primary responsibility was to protect the interests of residents of the FCT who elected her.
“I have always said, there’s been no reason for there to be political conflict on my part,” she said, adding that her interventions were driven by the need to address issues affecting her constituents.
On what should be done immediately to reduce the impact of further heavy rainfall, Kingibe called for the removal of refuse from streets and drainage channels.
She said clearing the large piles of rubbish around the city would help prevent waste from being washed into drains and worsening blockages during rainfall.
“Some of the drains might be cleared because the truth is that if you’ve got a pile of trash anywhere and it rains, it’s going to take it all into and block the drains even more,” she said.
Kingibe also called for a comprehensive assessment of Abuja’s drainage and flood management infrastructure, saying the relevant agencies should provide short-term measures as well as a long-term plan to address the city’s growing flood risk.