FIJ
Alau Dam, which recently collapsed and caused severe flooding and displacements in Borno State, has received N762 million in budgetary allocations over the past 12 years. But the dam has remained in poor shape despite these allocations, raising questions about fiscal responsibility and oversight.
Each administration — from Goodluck Jonathan to Muhammadu Buhari and now Bola Ahmed Tinubu — has allocated fresh funds to different rehabilitation exercises on the dam annually. The highest allocations were made under Buhari’s government with N285 million in 2020 and N200 million in 2023.
The 2012, 2013 and 2016 budgets specifically described the repairs that the Federal Government was appropriating for. In 2012, for instance, N11 million was allocated for a desilting exercise and a hydrographical survey on the dam. Another N12 million went to reservoir desilting in 2013. More allocations followed, including N10 million in 2016 to rehabilitate dyke 1, 2 and 3 in the dam.
| YEAR | PURPOSE | COST | BUDGET PERFORMANCE (Expressed as Percentage of Appropriation) |
| 2012 | HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY/DESILTING | 11,102,080 | 70.59 |
| 2013 | DESILTING OF RESERVOIR | 12,000,000 | 37.38 |
| 2014 | 10,000,000 | ||
| 2015 | 10,000,000 | 48.33 | |
| 2016 | REHABILITATION OF DYKES NO. 1, 2 & 3 AT ALAU DAM | 10,000,000 | 100.62 |
| 2017 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 20,000,000 | 53.34 |
| 2018 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 24,000,000 | 48.58 |
| 2019 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 60,000,000 | 36.77 |
| 2020 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS ONGOING | 285,096,278 | —- |
| 2021 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 80,000,000 | 42.12 |
| 2022 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 37,593,714 | 42.12 |
| 2023 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 200,000,000 | Chad basin (48.13) |
| 2024 | ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 30,000,000 | |
| TOTAL | 762,792,071 |
Budgetary Allocations for the Repair of Alau Dam Between 2012 and 2024
But since 2017, the government consistently allocated money for ongoing rehabilitation with only vague descriptions that read “Alau Dam Rehabilitation” in the budgets for those fiscal years.
Per the drafting of the budget, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for executing these projects and the Chad Basin River Development Authority, under this ministry, serves as the implementing agency.
Over the years, however, it has been unclear if the allocations to the dam were disbursed to the implementing agency or effectively used. For instance, the 2012 budget implementation report noted a 70.59% performance rate but did not specify if the funds were disbursed for the dam’s survey and desilting or otherwise.
The 2013 report paints a similarly unclear picture.
Despite the FG’s claim that it prioritised water resources, the ministry implemented only 37.38% of its budget. It remains uncertain if the N12 million for reservoir desilting was spent.
As for 2014, the third and fourth quarter budget implementation reports were missing on the Budget Office’s website, making it impossible to assess if the implementing agency got the dam rehabilitation funds or not.
In 2015, the ministry executed only 48% of its budget with no specific mention of the dam project. It is however safe to infer the N10 million for repairs was utilised in 2016, as the ministry completed 100% of its appropriations that year.
The implementation rate fell again to 59.3% in 2017 and no mention of the dam appeared in the report. This lack of transparency continued through 2021, 2022 and 2023, with no clear records of money released for the dam.
| YEAR | Amount Spent | Purpose |
| 2018 | 8,194,728.28 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2019 | 7,670,119.04 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2020 | 51,884,002.66 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2021 | 21,405,767.43 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2022 | 31,888,734.89 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2023 | 162,185,443.48 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| 2024 | 26,084,373.23 | Rehabilitation of the Alau Dam |
| TOTAL: | N309,313,168.6 |
Payments made by the Chad RBDA for rehabilitation projects at the dam between 2012 and 2024.
Nevertheless, government expenditure records documented on the Open Treasury Portal confirm that approximately N300 million was spent on dam rehabilitation between 2018 and 2024. The largest chunk of this sum was spent in 2023, with the Chad River Basin Development Authority disbursing about N162 million to different contractors for repairs.
DEAD PEOPLE, MISSING ANIMALS, FREE PRISONERS
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported on Wednesday that over 30 people had died, and 414,000 were displaced due to the flooding after the dam’s collapse.
Babagana Zulum, the governor of Borno, has cited an even higher figure, claiming that about a million people were displaced.
The flood also decimated wildlife. Ali Abatcha, the general manager of the Sanda Kyarimi Zoo in Maiduguri, said that about 80% of animals at the facility had died.
Also, around 280 prisoners escaped from the Maiduguri Medium Security Custodial Centre during the flood, and they remain at large, according to the facility’s management.
THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE
This is not the first time the Alau Dam has collapsed and caused devastation. In September 1994, its collapse displaced 400,000 people in Borno.
The dam, built in 1986 to serve irrigation and domestic water needs in Maiduguri, failed and affected Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina, Kwara, and Plateau, as well as parts of Cameroon, according to a TheCable report.
However, the United Nations has described the recent flood as even worse than the 1994 disaster.
In August, FIJ reported how Borno got over N816 million in ecological funds from the Federal Government but spent about N770 on environmental protection in the past year.
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