The Benue State government on Saturday announced a major drainage construction plan intended to halt recurring floods that have inundated neighborhoods in parts of the state capital.
The state’s Agro-Climatic Watershed Management Agency said crews will soon begin building a 20‑meter‑wide main channel to carry stormwater from Welfare Quarters through Achusah, past the Mopol barracks and down to the Industrial Layout, where it will discharge into the Benue River.
A statement by the Commissioner of Information and Orientation Solomon Iorpev on said a network of smaller feeder drains will tie surrounding streets and low‑lying neighborhoods into the primary channel.
“The plan will connect existing drains to the river and put a permanent stop to the recurring floods in the affected areas,” Commissioner Iorpev said after an on‑site inspection in Makurdi Local Government Area.
He described two principal feeder routes: one beginning near a mechanic’s workshop in Welfare Quarters and running through Achusah, and another starting by the Peugeot plant on Otukpo Road and moving along Navy Road to Kids Authority Schools before linking via Hotel Lucia Road to Achusah.
He said every street in Achusah and nearby communities will be tied into the system.
A team of officials executives led the assessment on Saturday who included Roy Ashirga, commissioner for housing and urban development; Odoh Ugwu, commissioner for water resources; Kuma Aii Yenge, commissioner for works; and Ter Mede, general manager of the Urban Development Board.
Preliminary surveying and mapping work is already under way, the statement said.
NewsQuest reports that the programme will include the demolition of homes built on waterways, a measure the government framed as necessary to protect residents and prevent future inundation.
Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration, which has faced criticism after recent flash floods, said the project highlights its commitment to a long‑term solution.
“These measures are being undertaken in the interest of residents in particular, and the state at large,” Commissioner Iorpev said.
