Succour may soon come the way of flood victims in Bauchi State as President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate release of the sum of N800 million for flood rehabilitation in Jama’are local government area of Bauchi state.
The disclosure was made by the State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed while addressing people of the area at the bank of Jama’are river, saying that the fund was approved under the ecological project of the federal government.
The Governor also requested the federal government to look into the possibility of providing a Dam in Jama’are under its Water Resources Strategy as part of measures to avert the reoccurrence of over flooding in the area.
Bala Mohammed, therefore, cautioned farmers in the area against farming along the waterways in order not to be affected by the flood.
The Acting Head of Administration, Jama’are local government, Alhaji Bala Hafizu had earlier said that over 100 farmlands, worth over N100 million have been affected as a result of over flooding.
Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed visited Jama’are Central Market to assess the extent of the damage incurred during the flood disaster.
While assuring the affected victims for immediate government’s intervention, the governor expressed gratitude to the people of the local government for their support to his administration.
Meanwhile, as measure to check incessant flooding along riverine communities in Bauchi State particularly in the Central and Northern zones, the Federal Government has been urged to as a matter of urgency ensure the full take-off of the Kafin Zaki Dam project in Bauchi State which has continue to suffer neglect by successive administration since it was conceived many years ago.
The call was made on Thursday by the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed when he paid a sympathy visit to the victims of flood disaster in Zaki Local Government Area of the state.
Bala Mohammed also enjoined all the communities involved in the project to resolve their issues amicably so that the project will be implemented lamenting that their unresolved misunderstanding has led to the delay in the take-off and completion of the project.
The Governor who assured the flood victims of providing all the necessary support for the project suggested for the use of technology in order to ensure that all the affected communities along the area of the project get the required opportunities to benefit from it.
Bala Muhammad while saying that the flood has caused environmental and ecological agitations in the state, appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to intervene immediately towards finding a lasting solution to the environmental challenges facing the area.
According to him, the situation has compounded with sanitation problems as non-evacuation of drainages and culverts are some of the factors responsible for the flood and assured that enumeration exercise will be conducted in all the flood areas across the state so as to support the victims.
In his remarks, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Zaki local government council, Alhaji Yahuza Abdulkadir requested for the provision of adequate canoes as part of the remedy for alleviating some of the needs of the affected victims.
The Governor who was on an assessment visit to flood areas across the state also visited, Darazo, Misau, Shira, Zaki, Jama’are and Ningi Local government areas which are all devastated by the flood which has claimed many lives, destroyed houses and farmlands thereby rendering the victims homeless.