Flooding: FCTA begins desilting of drains along Airport Road, other areas

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has commenced the desilting of drains along the Airport road and other parts of Abuja following heavy rainfall recorded two days ago, which triggered flash floods in parts of the city.

Speaking during an inspection tour on Thursday, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA, Mr Richard Dauda, said the flooding had already been anticipated by weather forecasters, noting that “the weather forecast had already shown that rainfalls will be heavy this year.”

He said the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike had earlier explained during a media chat that climate change was evident, adding that “there was the torrential rainfall that came with some flash floods.”

Dauda said the city’s vulnerability to flooding was recognised in the Abuja Master Plan, stating that “because of the location of the city, it is evident even from the Master Plan that we will have some flash floods.”

He said resilient infrastructure had already been provided, citing the Airport road as “a good infrastructure,” but noted that drainage facilities along the corridor had become silted over time.

He explained that desilting was already ongoing as directed by the minister, “so that when the rains fall again, we won’t have a similar experience.”

According to him, part of the cause of the silting was the dumping of refuse into drainage channels by residents, which rainfall subsequently washes into the drains. “When rain falls, it washes them down, and in some cases, you see large objects. These large objects, when they get to the outlets, they block it,” he said, adding that once the outlets are blocked and sand is washed in, “the drainage facility is no longer able to function the way it should.”

Dauda appealed to residents to desist from dumping refuse into waterways, describing it as part of the human factor contributing to flash floods in the city.

He cited a stream that runs from Galadima Roundabout, crossing the Airport Expressway through a triple-cell box culvert measuring three metres by three metres, which he described as carrying “a large volume of water” during rainfall.

According to him, a developer had constricted the waterway downstream by constructing retaining walls in a bid to acquire more land. “Now, what that causes is that the volume of water that ought to pass no longer passes. This causes detention and backflow, and eventually, it overflows. Then we get flooding,” he said, adding that the structure needed to be removed to restore adequate water discharge and channel width.

On vandalised gully covers, Dauda said the covers, which are designed to sieve debris from road pavements before it enters the drains, had been stolen in some locations, allowing all manner of debris to flow directly into the gully inlets. “When vandals steal this, I wonder if they are still Nigerian citizens, because if they actually do pay tax, they will know that part of their contribution is there. So, it’s like stealing from yourself,” he said.

He disclosed that the FCDA was considering replacing the stolen covers with non-recyclable materials other than steel and cast iron to curb further theft and reduce debris entering the gullies. He said the Minister had directed that responsible agencies across the FCT commence desilting citywide, covering trapezoidal drains, U-channels along roads, and culverts, with new construction to be carried out where required.

Dauda said the inspection was aimed at assessing the extent of the flooding and verifying the desilting efforts already directed by the Minister, noting that work was ongoing on trapezoidal drains along the expressway, with attention to be extended to affected outlets along the Airport Road.

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