Olawale Jokotoye
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Wednesday, said that no fewer than 4,885 households were affected by the recent flooding in Ogun.
Director–General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, disclosed this in Abeokuta during the presentation of relief materials by the agency to the state government for distribution to flood victims.
Represented by Director, Special Duties, NEMA, Dr Bandele Onimode, Ahmed said that the assessment conducted recently by the agency revealed the statistics.
“Several houses were destroyed while cultivated farmlands were also submerged,” he said.
The director-general noted that several states of the federation, including Ogun, had suffered widespread flood disasters in the past few weeks.
He stated that the development had resulted in loss of lives, human displacement, loss of means of livelihood and socio-economic dislocation.
Ahmed further observed that the current global economic meltdown and pre-harvest food shortages had further exposed the vulnerability of the affected people.
“The South-West zonal office of NEMA has continuously worked with critical stakeholders and relevant agencies of the state government to respond and conduct damage/loss assessments to guide relief interventions to persons in need of support in the state.
“The result of the assessment indicated that 4,885 households were affected by the flood,” he said.
Ahmed said that after the assessment report was submitted to the supervising ministry, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of 12,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains from the National Strategic Reserve for distribution to the affected states.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the items presented to the state government included: rice, beans, maize, salt, vegetable oil, seasoning cubes, tin tomatoes, nylon mats, treated mosquito nets and bathing soaps.
Others were: guinea brocade, children’s wears, women and men’s wears, maize, sorghum and garri.
According to the director-general, the donation is a testimony that the Federal Government, through NEMA, is always concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of the people of Ogun.
He, however, called for more donations from individuals and groups, saying that “no government anywhere in the world can compensate individual losses from disaster occurrence.”
Responding, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mrs Olufemi Ilori-Oduntan, commended the federal government for the gesture, describing it as a right step in the right direction.
She assured that the items would be delivered directly to the victims across the state. (NAN)
