The Kwara State Government has appealed to the Federal Government to dredge the River Niger to minimize the incessant flood disaster ravaging riverine areas of the country.

The Head of Service of the State, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, stated this when reporters from Channels Television visited him in his office in Ilorin, the state capital.

Alhaji Dabarako said that recommendations on solutions to the flood disasters had been submitted to the Federal Government for action, pointing out that dredging was much easier and cheaper than building protective dikes, while the construction of dams across the country would afford farmers the opportunity of year round farming.

Alhaji Dabarako who disclosed that the state and federal governments had constructed curlverts, gutters, drainages and roads in addition to relief materials given to the victims across the state, advised the Federal Government to relocate flood disaster prone settlements to safer places but close to the river as it was their source of livelihood.

Responding to the issue of certificate forgery among civil servants in the state, the Head of Service said that 35 people had been detected and sacked after they were given fair hearing.

He said two persons were found to have shared a certificate to gain employment, while some had secured appointment elsewhere but still receiving salary from Kwara State at the same time.

He said certificate verification was to sanitize the system, stressing that it was a continuous exercise.