The residents of the Haya community in the Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa have urged the federal government to repair the emergency spillway of the Haya dam that caused the devastating flood after breaking down in the area.

The residents made the call in a statement by the community leader, Muhammadu Lawan, on Saturday in Dutse, the state capital.

Mr Lawan particularly called on the Hadejia/Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA) to repair the dam, which broke due to the overflow of its water.

He explained that the dam, constructed by the federal government through HJRBDA 12 years ago, was improving the socio-economic life of the people in the area.

The community leader noted that the dam provided livelihoods to people in the area, primarily through dry season farming.

“Our youths have, since the construction of this dam, stopped migrating to urban areas for greener pastures; in fact, using this dam, our people earned between 10 and N12 million through irrigation farming

“That’s why we appeal to authorities concerned to come and repair the dam so that our people will continue to benefit from it,” the leader said.

According to him, the spilt water also flooded and destroyed several hectares of farmlands and produce.

“Repairing this dam for the next dry season will assist to replace what we lost to flood this rainy season,” the leader added. 

(NAN)