Several lecture halls at the Federal University of Lafia have been submerged by flood following a week-long torrential rainfall in the Nasarawa State capital.
It was gathered that most students of the institution were stranded at the school gate on Friday as they could not access their classes due to the flooding which affected several parts of the school premises.
One of the students, Mr. Felix, appealed to the school management to urgently address the issue to prevent future occurrences.
Felix said, “We are unable to attend lectures because of the flooding which affected many of our lecture halls.
“The rains have actually been heavy for some days now, but we want to appeal to the school management to help us on the matter so that we won’t have to be absent from classes in the future because of the floods.”
Felix also criticized the construction of some school buildings in swampy areas and urged the Federal Government to send a team of land surveyors to the institution to address the persistent flooding problem.
The Nasarawa State Government, in response to this, has taken steps to mitigate the effects of floods in flood-prone tertiary institutions across the state.
The State Commissioner for Special Duties on Humanitarian Services and NGOs, Margaret Elayo, disclosed this on Monday after inspecting the multi-purpose hall of the Faculty of Arts, Federal University of Lafia, which was submerged by the week-long heavy rainfall.
Elayo expressed concern over the situation and assured the university management of the government’s support.
She urged the students to remain calm as efforts were already underway to address the issue.
“We are committed to finding a remedy to mitigate the impact of the floods and support the university community to enable its students to resume their daily academic activities,” she said.
The commissioner and her entourage visited several lecture halls that were submerged by the floods, including those in the English and Literary Studies, History and International Studies, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, and Visual and Creative Arts departments.
Elayo explained that the purpose of her visit was to gain first-hand information on the extent of the damage caused by the floods.
She promised to engage with the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency to explore possible solutions and ensure the swift return of students to their normal academic schedule.
