Kebbi State Government, on Friday, called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency to come to the aid of flood victims in all the communities ravaged by flood in 21 LGAs of the state.
The State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed, made this call at a Press Conference on the devastating impact of the flood disaster in the affected communities.
The Commissioner asserted that 16 out of the 21 LGs were the worst hit, leaving 329,000 houses destroyed and 858,000 hectares of farmland washed away by the disaster.
According to him, some of the worst affected LGs are: Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Ngaski, Jega, Augie, Yauri, Maiyama, Shanga, Koko-Besse and Gwandu, among others.
He added that None of the 21 LGs was spared by this devastating flood and almost all households in the state were either directly or indirectly affected.
“This was in spite of all the proactive measures taken by the state government to stem the tide of the flood disaster.”
“The State Government promptly acted upon the flood alerts earlier received from NIMET, NEMA and the Nigerian Hydrological Agency.”
The Commissioner pointed out that the the disaster has hugely affected the livelihoods of the generality of the people of the state especially the rural areas.
Pointing out further that seven victims were reportedly dead in Ngaski LGA, eight in Maiyama, five in Kalgo, seven in Jega and two in Birnin Kebbi local Government Areas respectively.
He also stated that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of assorted farm produce had also been destroyed by the flood, hence impacting negatively on the state’s invaluable contributions to the nation’s food supply chain.
He lamented this is a bad omen for Nigeria’s food security as Kebbi State remains the hub of rice production in the country.
Noting that If an urgent support is not given to the affected farmers, there is an impending food scarcity in the state and the country in general.
“To prevent this impending doom, the victims should be assisted by well-meaning individuals and groups from within and outside the country.”
“They should be assisted with assorted improved seeds and other inputs for them to engage in dry season farming so as to empower them to bounce back.
He recalled that the State Government has set up standing committees at the state and LGAs levels, with a view to assessing the extent of damages caused by the colossal flood disaster across the state.
Alhaji Ahmed said the gesture was aimed at coming up with measures and actions to assist the flood victims, but, due to the extent of damage caused by the disaster, there is the need for collective actions to assist the victims.
The Commissioner emphasized that the committee established by the State Government, led by the Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida, is working tirelessly to alleviate the impact of the flood on the victims.
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