However, massive flooding is forecast to sweep through many parts of Nigeria between September and October
Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, on Monday refuted reports of an explosion at Kainji Dam in Niger State.
The NIHSA described the report by an online medium (not Realtime.ng) as fake, urging the public to disregard the claims made by the news outlet, according to a report by PUNCH.
Director-General of the agency, Clement Nze, told journalists that his agency investigated the claim and found out that it was false.
He said, “The general public, especially the print and electronic media, should disregard the online ‘fake news’ claiming that there was an explosion in Kanji Dam.
“I can authoritatively confirm that Kainji Dam is safe, no explosion whatsoever in the dam.”
Nze said the hydrological services agency was working in synergy with the operators of major dams across the country.
He further said his personnel contacted officials at the Niger State dam but none of those contacted confirmed any explosion at the site.
“After reading the online news, I put a call across to the hydrologist who was holding a management meeting at the dam site at that moment,” he said.
Nze added, “He [the hydrologist] informed me that there was nothing like that.”
He explained that NIHSA’s gauge readers working within the catchment had not reported such an incident.
However, the country’s hydrological services forecasts massive flooding in Nigeria between September and October, 2020.