Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello says there was an urgent need to revisit Minna masterplan in order to correct the anomalies in some settlements.
He said the inaccessibility of metropolitan settlements such as Barikin Sale, Kpakungu and others due to poor planning and hazard building arrangements made them potentially disaster prone.
“There has been grievous mistakes in the past, but we must start to correct them now. Even though it will be at a very high cost, we must redesign those settlements to make them easily accessible so that infrastructure and other utilities can be provided to the people,” the governor pointed out in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mary Noel-Berje
He directed the State Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA) to immediately commence the evacuation and clearing of drainage channels ahead of the coming rainy season as a proactive measure against flooding.
“Communities and individuals are not helping matters by blocking the drainage systems with refuse, such practice must stop. However, we must not wait until it’s too late to clear the drains because the rains will soon be here,” he noted.
