Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
About five persons were killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed by flood disaster in Dagun village of Warji local government area of Bauchi State.
The state Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed lamented over the incident when he paid a sympathy visit to the flood scene Thursday said his government has provided quick relief materials to the victims.
The governor who could not hide his sadness assured that another relief materials would be provided as soon as inventory of the incident is completed to cushion the effect of the lost of lives and properties suffered by the affected persons.
“We are to commiserate with people and families of those who lost their lives over what happened following the massive flooding that affected Dagun village”, he said.
According to him, “we understand about five to six people have lost their lives and properties worth millions of Naira were also lost. We commiserate on behalf of myself and my family and the government of Bauchi with the district head of Warji and all the families that were affected by the unfortunate flooding”.
The governor while calling on law abiding citizens to always listen to authorities on how to build their settlements noted that the government will send engineers to proffer solution to the causes of flood in the area.
“We understand that this town has been populated and that is why people have built houses on the water ways and of course we have to provide engineering solution, but certainly we have to listen to the authorities so that at the end of the day we are not going to have this happened again”.
We will work with federal government and spirited public individuals, organized public sector and international community to take inventory of all our environmental problems and challenges not only in warji but other LGAs with a view to finding amicable solutions.
The governor urged traditional rulers particularly district heads to ensure that justice and equity is done in the distribution of relief materials to victims of flood disaster.
Bala also assured the people of warji of the state government’s resolve to construct a befitting General Hospital in Warji as, according to him, it is the only LG in the state that lacks such health facility.
Other promises the governor made to the people of Warji included the construction of good road that would link the LG to Jigawa state.
In his speech, the Director General of Bauchi state Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA), Dr Rilwanu Kabir said governor Bala Mohammed has directed the State Emergency Management (SEMA) to tour 20 LGAs in the state to assess any possible threat to the environment with a view to taking proactive measures.
Dr Kabir who spoke on behalf of SEMA said apart from lost of lives and properties worth millions of naira, many people have been rendered homeless in the area.
He assured the people of Bauchi state that a lot of measures are been put in place by the government to contain threats of flooding in the state. END