Residents call for dredging of River Benue

Residents of Iniongun community in Makurdi, Benue State, have called for the urgent dredging of River Benue to forestall the perennial cases of flooding. They made the call when a non-governmental organisation, Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), donated relief materials to the community, which was flooded last year.

GIFSEP, in conjunction with the Eunice Spring of Life Foundation, founded by the governor’s wife, Dr. Eunice Ortom, gave out solar panels, bulbs, batteries and inverters to 50 residents of the community yesterday.

Executive Director of GIFSEP, Mr. Terungwa David, disclosed that the items were given to only those who were affected by the floods last year and who had no source of light in their houses.

David said the aim was to address their light challenge, lamenting that the major source of light for some of them in the night was hand-held torchlights. A resident, Matthew Ochai, called on the Federal Government to ensure that River Benue was dredged to tackle the perennial flooding in the area.