An environmental expert, Dr. Mamoud Bello Abubakar, has urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to move beyond reactive emergency response and adopt anticipatory, climate-resilient approach to managing recurring floods in Abuja.

Abubakar, who’s the Chief Executive Officer, Engineering and Environmental Management Services Limited (EEMS Limited), in a statement on Friday, said the FCT flooding should not be viewed simply as a rainfall problem, but as the result of a convergence of factors.

He said such included climate change, rapid urbanisation, encroachment on natural drainage corridors, poor waste disposal, and weaknesses in development control and infrastructure maintenance.

“Abuja’s continuing expansion and changing climate require us to move progressively from a predominantly reactive approach towards anticipatory, risk-informed and climate-resilient urban management,” he said, urging residents to also stop dumping waste into drains and waterways.

While commending the FCTA, the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), and other agencies for their on-going flood sensitisation and emergency preparedness, he identified development on floodplains and waterways, and inadequate drainage capacity in fast-growing districts among others, as key drivers.

He proposed a six-point programme for the FCTA to include: “flood-risk and drainage assessments using hydrological modelling and GIS mapping, mapping and protecting floodplains, consistently enforcing development-control regulations, upgrading drainage infrastructure, and strengthening community-level early-warning and evacuation systems.”