Borno flood: NEDC conducts assessment of destruction

Following the massive flood that ravaged many parts of Borno State, Managing Director of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali on Tuesday promised to collaborate with relevant government agencies towards providing immediate relief assistance to victims of the disaster.

The NEDC helmsman gave the assurance during an assessment tour of areas affected by the disaster initiated by the management team of the Commission.

The team visited some areas within Maiduguri, the state capital where they sympathised with the victims and pledged immediate humanitarian support and assistance to the victims.

As an interim measure, the Commission will liaise with the state government as well as NEMA to provide temporary relief to victims pending full investigation and assessment of the situation

The MD/CEO described the incident as unfortunate and advised residents of flood prone areas to exercise great caution and avoid such areas for their own safety.

In a related development, Chairman, Humanitarian Correspondents, Comrade Kehinde Akintola and members of the Association on Wednesday commiserated with the Government and people of Borno State over the unfortunate incident which affected thousands of Borno State.

He said: “Our hearts go out to our dearly beloved Sisters and Brothers who were directly and indirectly affected by the flood disaster which occured in Maiduguri, Borno State on Monday and Tuesday, which led to loss of lives, livelihood and caused displacement of thousands of fellow Nigerians.

“We share in the grief caused by the unfortunate incident, at a time when the entire Citizenry are going through challenging socio-economic situation in our country.

“Our prayers are with you and may God continue to protect and help us through the current situation and the unforeseen predicaments.”

In acknowledgement of numerous proactive steps taken by NEDC management to alleviate the impacts of flood and other humanitarian challenges facing the region, Comrade Akintola underscored the need for provision of special intervention funds for NEDC to meet the enormous needs of the people affected directly and indirectly by the recent flood disaster.

“As we all know, natural disaster like this come with so much needs that require prompt intervention of intervention Institutions like NEDC.

“To achieve its statutory mandates, Federal Government should consider approval of special intervention fund for NEDC, in addition to other funding arrangements from development partners.”

Akintola specifically applauded the prompt intervention of NEDC through significant investments in agriculture, infrastructural development, education, vocational training programmes, provision of healthcare facilities, training of medical personnel and essential medicines, improved maternal and child health services, women and youth empowerment programmes, among others.

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