By RITA ILIYA

The North South Power Company Limited (NSPCL), operator of the Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Station, has urged residents of flood-prone communities in Niger to heed early warning messages to minimise the impact of flooding during the 2026 rainy season.

Mr Olubunmi Peters, Executive Vice Chairman of NSPCL, made the call at the company’s annual stakeholders’ flood sensitisation and awareness forum in Minna on Thursday.

Peters, represented by Alhaji Abdullahi Hassan, Consultant on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the company, said the forum was organised to sensitise upstream and downstream host communities on flood risks and measures to mitigate loss of lives and property.

He said that the programme was aimed at educating residents, fishermen and other users of water bodies on the environmental hazards associated with flooding and the need to adopt preventive measures.

“Stakeholders must develop new strategies, promote physical planning, sustain public sensitisation and encourage responsible environmental practices to minimise the devastating effects of flooding,” he said.

Peters explained that the sensitisation became necessary because the company might have to release excess water from the Shiroro Dam whenever the reservoir exceeded safe operating levels.

According to him, the annual engagement is intended to prepare communities ahead of such releases to prevent panic and ensure timely evacuation where necessary.

He also advocated the establishment of a dedicated flood management agency in Niger, noting that although the state has more dams than Oyo State, it lacked a specialised institution to coordinate flood management.

“Niger should establish a similar agency to identify flood-prone areas, manage waterways and improve flood response,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Ugochukwu Chioke, Chief Operating Officer of NSPCL, stressed that effective implementation of agreed flood safety measures remained critical to reducing the impact of annual flooding on host communities.

Chioke said that many residents continued to return to flood plains after relocating because of the fertility of the land, thereby exposing themselves to avoidable risks.

“The challenge is the implementation of what we have all agreed here. You ask people to leave the flood plains, but they return because the land is fertile.

“We have continued to recommend that they cultivate quick-yielding crops so they can harvest before the flood season begins,” he said.

Also speaking, Alhaji Hussaini Isah, Head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Minna Operations Office, said that local government areas likely to experience varying degrees of flooding include Agaie, Bida, Borgu, Edati, and Gbako.

Others are Katcha, Lapai, Lavun, Magama, Mashegu, Mokwa and Shiroro.

He said that the prediction was based on the 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction and Annual Flood Outlook released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

In his remarks, Prof. Danladi Hakimi, Chairman of the Dam Host Communities Committee, called for stronger collaboration between organisations operating in the area and host communities.

Represented by the committee’s Public Relations Officer, Mallam Mohammed She, Hakimi urged organisations to always engage community leaders through the committee before executing projects in their communities.

Stakeholders at the forum included representatives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), NiMet, NIHSA, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), emergency management agencies and traditional institutions. (NAN)

Update news