Desmond Mgboh, Kano, Solomon Ayado, Lafia, Layi Olanrewaju,Ilorin
Heavy downpour which lasted for days has left many displaced in Kano, Kwara and Nasarawa states forcing governors Abdulahi Ganduja, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Abdullahi Sule to seek for speedy supply of relief materials to victims from the Federal Government.
In Nasarawa, Governor Abdullahi Sule, yesterday, raised the alarm that scores of people, including aged men, women and children, were displaced and rendered homeless following a flood that ravaged Nasarawa town in Nasarawa Local Governent Area.
Sule, who appealed to the Federal Government to quickly intervene in tackling flood and other ecological problems facing the state, said it was the second time flood would wreck havoc in Nasarawa in less than two weeks.
He said houses were submerged, just as animals were killed, with some persons reportedly missing.
The governor stated this, yesterday, when he visited the affected LGA where he ordered the evacuation of the displaced persons.
He directed the state emergency management agency to provide relief materials such as food items and mattresses without delay to the victims.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra, the governor “urged the people of the state to desist from building on waterways and stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainages.”
In the same vein, the Executive Secretary, Kano State Emergency Relief Agency (SEMA), Dr. Saleh Jilli, in an interview with Daily Sun, lamented that this year’s flood was far more devastating than it had ever been in the state. He said an assessment showed that there was no local government council in the state that was spared by the flood, adding that in some cases, over 100 houses were destroyed by the flood in a single local government council.
While imploring the National Emergency Relief Agency(NEMA), Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Presidential Task Force on Relief and Rehabilitation and National Refugees Commission to deliver and assist victims, Jilli underlined the fact that most of the victims had been displaced and were in urgent need of support
He equally appealed to well -to –do individuals in the state to assist the displaced, saying government alone could not shoulder all the responsibilities of ameliorating the suffering of the flood victims.
Similarly, on Saturday night, torrential rains that lasted several hours wreaked havoc in Ilorin, Kwara state capital. One life was said to have been lost during the heavy rains, it was gathered.
Two persons whose corpses were yet to be recovered were equally swept away at Taiwo Isale and Oko-Erin bridges in the metropolis, a source at the state Fire Service said.
The heavy downpour also destroyed several houses and property.
The rains started around 7pm and stopped in the wee hours of Sunday.
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq commiserated with families whose houses were affected.
The state government urged the Federal Government to urgently consider Kwara for special support even as it is setting up a special disaster response team to collate data of areas affected and determine how the state government can offer support based on available resources.