Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has allayed the fears of residents and other stakeholders over the likely collapse of Alau dam, arising from the observed water levels from two rivers in the state.

The concerns are because Rivers Yedzaram and Ngadda flow into the dam, and burst last September, claiming 150 lives along with the massive destruction of public infrastructures, farmlands and houses.

Despite Zulum’s assurances on the non-collapse of the dam this year, there has been widespread anxiety over the likelihood of another collapse of the dam this year.

Allaying the fears of dam collapse on Saturday, in the outskirts of Maiduguri, after an inspection visit to the project site, Zulum stated, “The fears of residents and stakeholders of Maiduguri was a serious concern to my administration,” insisting that there was no cause of fear or panic over any possible devastating floods from the overflowing waters from Alau dam.

Reassuring the non-collapse of the 40-year-old dam this year, the governor stated, “The three dikes of the dam and the new water channels have been opened up for the free flow of water from the dam,” adding that the dam’s water level has also dropped by four inches in the last few days.

He noted that the volume of dam waters will continue to fall, as the contractor handling the N80 billion reconstruction dam project monitors the inflows of water into the dam from River Yedzaram, a tributary of the Benue River in Cameroon.

Meanwhile, he said that based on the existing engineering knowledge, it has been concluded that there is no cause for any alarm about the dam’s collapse in 2025.

Beyond the assurance on the dam, Zulum noted, “Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, but we are working and shall continue to monitor the completion of the dam project.”

Speaking on the dam’s master plan, he said, “We’re going to look at the entire plan of the dam, and see where distortions were made, to rectify all the abnormalities of the previous contractors.

“All the tributaries of rivers, and other water channels shall be cleared of debris and the silts from the dam.”

He noted that this will ensure a free flow of water into the main canal that feeds Alau Dam. He warned that environmental standards must be enforced by the State’s Geographic Information Service (BOGIS), as the government has no other options to protect people’s lives and property from the perennial flooding and natural disasters.

He attributed the delays in completing the dam project to technical procedures, assuring that the contractor has already resumed work at the project site, located off the 22km Maiduguri-Bama road.

He also thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving N80 billion to complete the rebuilding of the dam that collapsed on September 10, 2024, following the massive release of Lagdo dam waters in Cameroon.