60 die in Sokoto, Ibadan flood disasters as president pledges assistance
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- Category: Politics
- Published on Thursday, 16 September 2010 09:03
- Written by NAN
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SIXTY people - forty-eight in Sokoto State and twelve in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have been reported killed following flood disasters witnessed in the two states in the last few days.
In the Sokoto incident, 35,000 others were displaced as flood submerged 23 villages in the Goronyo Local Government Area of the state.
Alhaji Zubairu Yari, the local government chairman, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Goronyo, Sokoto State, on Wednesday.
Yari said that N5 billion was required to resettle the victims.
According to him, 15 of the 23 affected villages were submerged just as thousands of houses and farmlands were washed away.
“Some of the victims are missing; we just got a piece of information that 53 dead bodies were seen around Argungu in Kebbi State and majority of them are suspected to be from this area.
“I have personally seen three dead bodies of women with their dead children strapped to their backs. It is very catastrophic,” the chairman said.
He further said that the local government required the support of the state and the federal governments to resettle the victims in safe havens.
Also, a rainstorm on Tuesday destroyed houses and farmlands in three communities in the Miango District of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
This was contained in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Jos.
The statement was signed by Mr David Bala, the spokesperson for the paramount ruler of Irigwe chiefdom.
It said the downpour, which lasted several hours, destroyed economic crops and residential buildings.
According to the statement, areas affected included Ariri, Kpara, Kpachudu and their environs.
The statement appealed to the local and state governments as well as public-spirited individuals to assist the affected communities and persons.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday reassured flood victims in Sokoto and Kebbi states of the Federal Government's commitment to cushion their sufferings.
The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reported that Jonathan gave the commitment at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto, shortly after inspecting the flood ravaged communities in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
“The Federal Government feels sad and committed to working with the two state governments to cushion the sufferings of the victims of the disasters.
“I feel very sad at what has happened. I had received briefings from the ministers of Education and Works who were here.
“But after receiving similar briefings from the two governors, I felt compelled to abandon the PDP NEC and FEC meetings to come and see things for myself,’’ he added.
Jonathan further said that it was disheartening to see communities separated by water in an area that was not riverine.
“Such floods are predictable in the Niger Delta but not in the north. It has never happened like that in Nigeria,’’ he said.
