The federal ministry of water resources and sanitation has pledged stronger collaboration with the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on flood management and response to tackle perennial flooding across the country.

The minister of water resources and sanitation, Joseph Utsev, gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja when the committee paid a working visit to the ministry.

Mr Utsev said the partnership was crucial to enable both arms of government to work collectively for effective flood control and management.

He noted that the ministry had, over the years, invested greatly in dams and irrigation projects across the six geopolitical zones for flood control, irrigation and power generation.

According to him, projects include the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam in Taraba, designed to provide water for irrigation and power supply.

He added that several others, such as Mangu Dam in Plateau and Adada Dam in Enugu, were at various stages of completion.

He added that work was also progressing steadily on the Alau Dam in Borno, while the design of a buffer dam at Dasin Hausa in Adamawa had been completed.

“The Dasin Hausa Dam, when constructed, will contain excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, which often causes flooding downstream of the River Benue.”

The minister expressed optimism that partnerships with the National Assembly and development partners would help build a resilient water sector that secured the nation’s future.

He assured the committee of his ministry’s commitment to delivering priority dam and irrigation projects, protecting Nigerians from the impact of flooding, and expanding irrigated lands to meet food and energy needs.

Earlier, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Midala Balama, stated that the visit aimed to interact with the minister and his team to strengthen collaboration and develop new ideas for flood mitigation and response.

(NAN)