From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Governro Bello
Smiles have come on the faces of victims of flood disaster that submerged the entire communities in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi state since August this year as government at the weekend distributed relief materials worth millions of naira to cushion the effect of the natural calamity on the people.
The affected people whose farm lands, crops, and other valuable properties were destroyed during the flooding had continued to cry out for the state government assistance following its none response to ameliorate their plight four and half months after the incident occurred.
The state Coordinator of the Emergency Operation Center (EOC), Sanusi Usman Yahaya , while addressing the press at the Ibaji liaison office, praised the people of Ibaji for their patience and perseverance.
Sanusi who was represented by the Acting Director, Climate Change of the State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources , Mrs Dorcas Enehe, pointed out that, the whole place in Ibaji was totally flooded and submerged, and so are given special consideration in the distribution, that is why Ibaji Local Government had received the highest relief items.
According to him, up till this moment, the road to Ibaji is not yet easily accessible.
Mr Abdulwahab saliu, who represented the State Emergency Agency (SEMA) during the distribution, said the Agency had earlier visited the communities for assessment, moving from house to house to take the profile of the affected people, during which they confirmed that Ibaji was 100 per cent flooded.
The Chairman, 2018 Ibaji flood committee, Mr omonu Jackson, who received the items on behalf of the people, thanked the state government for the assistance and promised that the materials would be fairly shared.
The items donated included bags of rice, garri, beans, guinea corn, millet, corn, red oil , sugar, milo, detergents, matresses, mats, buckets, clothes etc for about eighty -one, 81 Communities that were affected.