Environment
FG Delineates Flood Prone Areas
The Federal Government is to embark on the mapping and delineation of flood plains in the country, as part of efforts to control flooding and halt further dislocation of communities.
The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe disclosed this last week in Kaduna during the 7th Engr. Mahmud Armiya’u Memorial Lecture organised by the Kaduna branch of the Nigeria Society of Engineers.
The lecture had as its theme:“Water Resources: Its Management and Transportation.”
“Mapping and deleanation of flood plains shall be embarked upon as a way of alerting communities residing in these areas and keeping them off flood plains for safety sake,” the minister told the engineers.
She said the government would also vigorously construct dams “identified as having huge potentials of assisting in flood control”.
The minister added that the government would take inventory of all water infrastructure nationwide to determine their safety level and ensure that they could function “even under adverse conditions”.
Ochekpe described the increasing frequency of flooding in the country as alarming, saying an integrated approach to water management was necessary in checking the trend.
She advised state governments and agencies involved in water management to partner with her ministry to ensure proper management of water resources in the country.
Earlier, the Chairman of the event, retired Justice Mamman Nasir, said Nigeria must continue to invest in technical education if it hopes to attain any level of development.
“Any country without proper technical education will never make fruitful progress”, he said, adding that Nigerian engineers have made huge contributions to national development.
The former president of the Court of Appeal, advised the government to devise special programmes to encourage indigenous professionals for the good of the nation.
“I support anybody bringing in capital into Nigeria, but not professionals, because our people have the capacity to do the work.”
The Kaduna NSE Chairman, Abdul Abdu, said the Mahmud Armiya’u Foundation was instituted in 2002 and had offered financial support and recognition to 45 engineering students from the North.
He said the foundation was also instituting a professorial chair and fellowship in universities and polytechnics.
Reports says that late Armiya’u was the first executive and chartered engineer in the Northern region and was a corporate member of the NSE in 1969.
He retired from the Northern Region Government as permanent secretary in 1972 and was later appointed commissioner in the defunct North Central State (now Kaduna and Katsina states).
A total of eight engineering students from seven universities were honoured at the event.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
