Over 5,000 dry-season farmers in no fewer than thirty (30) communities in Mokwa, Edati, Lavun, Katcha, Agaie local areas of Niger State, Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas of Kwara State have lost their rice fields and over ten (10) lives to the flood released from Jebba dam.
A source from the area revealed that the flood which occurred on the 16th April, 2025, destroyed rice fields worth billions of naira.
Abubakar Ndako Kutigi, who spoke on behalf of the village head of Ceganman and other farmers, in a telephone interview with The Guardian in Minna, decried that the communities had experienced six (6) separate flood incidents in 2025, affecting their economy and livelihoods.
Kutigi, a rice farmer, explained that some farmers who usually come from Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Kano states, who are also a huge sources of revenue to Niger State, are seriously affected by the flood and might not find Niger State suitable for farming any more.
He lamented that this is the 6th time the dam has released heavy floods in the 2025 dry season alone, adding that the same disaster had occurred around May 2023, calling on Mainstream Energy Solution to address the issue of the flood being released by Jebba Dam.
Ndako Kutigi, a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Bago on social mobilization, and Sarkin Waka Kutigi, Madami Ceganman, hinted that rice farmers in Ceganman, Sunti, Jaagi, Ketso, Kpanbo, Kpaceta, Zhiwu, Wuci, Tate, Lafiagi, Edogi Dunkun, Cewuru, Guzan, Muregi, down to Katcha villages, were all affected by the disaster.
“This year’s dry-season farming began in December with high hopes, but has turned into a nightmare by April. every year, we are supposed to be preparing for harvest, but instead, we are watching our crops sink under water, all our investments lost,” Ndako lamented.
He noted that the dry-season rice farming is the sole source of the livelihood for most Cheganma people and residents of the riverine areas, adding that destruction of farmlands has not only jeopardized food production but has pushed many families to the brink of economic collapse.
He appealed to the federal, Niger State and Mokwa local government for their immediate intervention.
He advised the authorities concerned to implement lasting solutions, such as improved dam water management, construct buffer drainage channels, early warning systems, and provide relief packages to the affected farmers.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hussaini Ibrahim who confirmed the incident attributed the flood to yearly released of water from the dam, noting that the agency was aware of it, and it’s working tirelessly to assist the affected communities.
He had sympathised with the farmers for losing their crops.
