The residents of Haya community in Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa have urged the Federal Government to repair the emergency spill way of the Haya dam that caused the devastating flood after breaking down in the area.
The residents made the call in a statement by its Leader, Malam Muhammadu Lawan and made available to newsmen in Dutse.
Lawan particularly called on the Hadejia/Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA) to repair the dam which broke due to overflow of its water.
He explained that the dam, constructed by the Federal Government through HJRBDA 12 year ago, was improving the socio-economic life of the people in the area.
The community leader noted that the dam had provided means of livelihood to people in the area, especially through dry season farming.
“Our youths have since the construction of this dam, stopped migrating to urban areas for greener pastures; in fact using this dam, our people earned between 10 and N12 million through irrigation farming.
“That’s why we appeal to authorities concerned to come and repair the dam so that our people will continue to benefit from it,” the leader said.
According to him, the spilled water also flooded and destroyed several hectres of farmlands and farm produce in the area.
“Repairing this dam for the next dry season will assist to replace what we lost to flood this rainy season,” the leader added.