Borno govt gives Alau Dam committee 4 weeks to submit report

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has directed the committee constituted to determine the cause of the Alau Dam’s collapse to submit its report to the state government within four weeks.

Governor Zulum gave the directive after inaugurating the committee on Saturday in Maiduguri.

The 28-member committee is chaired by Engr Abba Garba, a former Managing Director of the Chad Basin Development Authority.

The governor maintained that despite the fact that the flood had receded, the dam continues to flow, posing an economic threat to the state and inhabitants using the dam’s resources for domestic and dry-season farming.

He said urgent steps must be taken to address the continuous outflow of the dam to enable it to serve its primary purpose.

Zulum, therefore, directed the committee to undertake a preliminary assessment of the dam to determine the immediate and remote causes of the 2024 Alau Dam collapse, its structural integrity, the extent of its damage, the remedial action required to forestall the persistence of the dam’s outflow, the cost implications for the immediate remedial action.

The governor charged the committee to make useful recommendations to forestall future occurrences.

He said: “The committee shall have four (4) weeks from the date of inauguration to submit its report to the Executive Governor of Borno State.”

Responding, the chairman of the committee expressed gratitude to Governor Zulum for finding them worthy of serving the state. He said, “ Each of us here is conscious of the gravity of the problem, and I would like to thank you for finding us worthy to serve on this very important committee. I assure you that we are going to look into the terms of reference, deliberate on it, and come up with our recommendations within the stipulated time.”