{"id":4693,"date":"2025-06-06T17:21:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=4693"},"modified":"2025-06-06T17:21:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:21:34","slug":"mokwa-flood-disaster-death-toll-rises-to-150-as-nlc-demands-preventive-steps-to-avert-future-occurrences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/mokwa-flood-disaster-death-toll-rises-to-150-as-nlc-demands-preventive-steps-to-avert-future-occurrences\/","title":{"rendered":"Mokwa flood disaster: Death toll rises to 150\u00a0 … As NLC demands preventive steps to avert future occurrences"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Our Reporter<\/div>\n
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The nation has lost over 150 lives\u00a0 from the devastating flood disaster that recently tore through Mokwa town in Niger State.<\/div>\n
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This is even as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the federal government to immediately embark on future robust steps to avert similar disaster in the country.<\/div>\n
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Gov of Niger state,Umaru Bago<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Those steps, it said, include periodic structural audit and maintenance of existing dams in the country, the building of catchment dams near big dams as Lagdo dam and others.<\/div>\n
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It further recommended that the construction of the proposed twin catchment dams in Dasin village, Fufore, Adamawa State, must be lifted from the drawing table to the construction site.<\/div>\n
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The NLC statement signed by the Acting President, Audu T. Amba in Abuja Friday, said governments at all levels should also improve on natural disaster risk forecasting, warning and evacuation processes.<\/div>\n
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According to the statement, the Occupational Safety and Health procedures in public and private workplaces and business spaces must be improved to enable workers and citizens\u00a0 overcome relocation inertia before or after\u00a0 natural disasters strike.<\/div>\n
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It said: “As the adage goes, \u201cto be forewarned is to be forearmed\u201d. Every Nigerian life counts and must be accounted for through diligent undertaking of the duty of care by the state.<\/div>\n
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“While we believe that necessary lessons may have\u00a0 been learnt from the Mokwa flood disaster to prevent recurrence, the biggest lesson to learn is that climate change is here and we all have a role to play in mitigating its source, adapting to its impact and building necessary resilience for survival.<\/div>\n
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“At the level of governance, it is important to note that ecological fund should not be seen as slush fund for settling compatriots in crime but should be deployed to our ecological needs, the statement noted. .<\/div>\n
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The NLC statement further stated that: “We are heart-broken by the devastating flood disaster that recently tore through Mokwa town in Niger State literally wiping out an\u00a0 entire community.<\/div>\n
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At the last count, over 150 bodies had been recovered , 250 receiving treatment and\u00a0 scores\u00a0 unaccounted for. Needless to say buildings, livestock, foodstuffs and other valuables were all washed away.<\/div>\n
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“This is a tragedy\u00a0 of monumental proportions\u00a0 and our hearts are heavy not only for the tragic losses but knowing full well that nothing significant may be done to avert another tragedy making Nigerians the most imperilled in the world even as God has been overtly kind to us (no volcanoes, no monsoons, no earth quakes etc).<\/div>\n
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“We dare say it is not enough to ask people to relocate to higher or safer grounds in light of comparative deficit of means of survival in those grounds. The government must be seen to\u00a0 be proactive in risk-mapping, especially in vulnerable communities as well as step up its reaction time.<\/div>\n
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“The Nigeria Labour Congress conveys its sympathy and solidarity to\u00a0 the Governor and people of Niger State, especially, Mokwa people.<\/div>\n
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“The high frequency of flooding and other natural disasters reminds us of the seriousness of the climate change crisis and the fact that countries of the Global South bear a disproportionate burden of the impact of climate change.<\/div>\n
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“The history of flooding in Nigeria shows a predictable pattern of causation and impact. The 2012 flood, which was triggered by the release of water from the Lagdo Dam and exacerbated by spikes of flash rainfall, was described as the worst in Africa and the 4th worst in the world.<\/div>\n
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“When we thought we had seen the worst, the 2022 flood disaster went several notches\u00a0 higher in terms of devastation.<\/div>\n
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“Uncountable towns and communities were submerged in 34 out of 36 states in Nigeria, and the Federal Capital Territory.<\/div>\n
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“Verifiable sources estimated that 3.2 million persons were impacted, around 1.5 million people were displaced, 600 individuals lost their lives, and over 2,400 people sustained varying degrees of injuries. The 2022 flood destroyed 300,000 homes and over 500,000 hectares of farmland, worsening the scourge of food insecurity in the country.<\/div>\n
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“In 2024, flooding in Nigeria killed more than 1,200 people, injured at least 2,712 others, and displaced 1.2 million. Between 1994 and 2014, flooding in Nigeria disrupted the lives of 11 million people, killed thousands and damaged assets worth over $17 billion.<\/div>\n
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“The pain of the persistent flooding in Nigeria is that it appears we never learn any lesson from previous floodings.<\/div>\n
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“Old mistakes, including the poor management of water releases from dams such as Lagdo in Cameroon, the shabby maintenance of Nigerian dams, and a complacent drainage system are often\u00a0 repeated.<\/div>\n
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“Not a few environmental experts have linked the Mokwa flood to the poor drainage infrastructure in Mokwa town. Since Mokwa is situated in a flood-prone location, it necessitates that extra measures\u00a0 be\u00a0 put in place to channel rainwater and occasional discharges from nearby dams into surrounding water bodies in order to minimise\u00a0 devastation to human lives, the built-up\u00a0 environment and properties.<\/div>\n
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“This requires conscious efforts by the government to build large storm drains, which must be properly covered to prevent siltation and refuse dumping by irresponsible persons.<\/div>\n
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“It is unfortunate that when disasters like the Mokwa flooding happen, it is the poor people and workers who are in the frontline of the impact. This is because climate change is a workplace reality as workers and their communities are in the direct line of fire when climate impacts hit.<\/div>\n
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“Many schools, hospitals and business spaces have been\u00a0 completely destroyed or shut down by the Mokwa flooding as livelihoods and public services are severed.<\/div>\n
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“While we appreciate the relative\u00a0 quick intervention of the Federal and Niger State Governments in condoling and assisting the victims of the Mokwa flooding with relief materials”,<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Our Reporter The nation has lost over 150 lives\u00a0 from the devastating flood disaster that recently tore through Mokwa town in Niger State. This is even as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the federal government to immediately embark on future robust steps to avert similar disaster in the country. Those steps, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2921,1769,3044,79,434,1972,3045,818],"class_list":["post-4693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-devastating","tag-disaster","tag-disasters","tag-flood","tag-intervention","tag-maintenance","tag-necessitates","tag-victims"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4694,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693\/revisions\/4694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}