Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced city-wide desilting of drainage channels following flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall in parts of Abuja.
Inspecting the ongoing clearance operations along the Airport Expressway on Thursday, Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Richard Dauda, said the exercise was directed by the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike.
Dauda, who said the directive followed Tuesday’s flash flood that submerged sections of the Airport Expressway, stated that the intervention is aimed at mitigating flood risks during the peak of the rainy season.
He noted that while recent downpours align with meteorological warnings and climate change trends, the Abuja Master Plan designates areas including the Airport Expressway axis as floodplains.
Dauda said although resilient infrastructure was originally built to handle high water volumes, human activities have severely compromised its efficiency.
‘Some of these drainage facilities over time have been silted. Part of the cause is residents dumping refuse into drainage channels.
‘When rain falls, it washes down polythene bags, waste, and even large objects that block the outlets,’ he said.
The FCDA boss identified illegal development and infrastructure vandalism as two major factors aggravating flash floods.
He pointed to a triple-cell box culvert along the expressway meant to discharge water from the Galadima Roundabout, which he said had been constricted downstream by a private developer who built retaining walls to expand a personal plot.
‘What that causes is that the volume of water that ought to pass no longer passes, causing detention, backflow, and eventual flooding. To restore adequate discharge capacity, we must remove the structures built by this developer,’ he said.
Dauda also decried the theft of metal gully inlet covers by vandals, which allows debris to flow directly into underground drains.
‘When vandals steal these covers, it’s like stealing from yourself as a taxpayer,’ he said.
To curb the theft, he said the FCDA is exploring replacement covers made from non-recyclable materials instead of steel or cast iron.
He confirmed that workers were already desilting trapezoidal drains, U-channels, and culvert outlets along the Airport Expressway, with plans to reconstruct damaged sections.
Dauda urged residents to stop dumping refuse into waterways, warning that government infrastructure can only protect the city with public cooperation.
Recall that the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, had disclosed the suspension of an FCDA director for allegedly granting illegal building approvals on waterways in Abuja.
Speaking during his routine monthly media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, monitored in Abuja, Wike said the action was part of efforts to address recurring flooding in the capital, which he blamed on years of illegal construction on waterways and the impact of climate change.
‘The floods in Abuja today are a result of people building on waterways in Abuja illegally over the years,’ Wike said.
‘We suspended a director in the FCDA according to Civil Service rules who was illegally giving building approvals to build on waterways,’ he added.
The minister, however, noted that climate change had also contributed to the recent flooding.
‘The floods we are experiencing recently are also due to climate change,’ he said.
The FCTA has in recent months intensified the removal of illegal structures obstructing waterways and drainage channels as part of measures to reduce flooding in the capital.