.. ..Flooding kills 11; 41,192 persons displaced this month
By Stephen Ojo
The Deputy Governor of The Niger State Deputy Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba disclosed no fewer than 87 people were drown as a result of boat mishaps in the state in the past two years from 2023 to September 2024.
Comrade Garba explained that about 93 boat accidents occured in 2023 in which 68 lives were lost, adding that, “in this year, 19 lives have been lost and we hope that we will stop counting.”
The Deputy Governor spoke while commissioning 33 fibre glass boats purchased by the National-Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission ( N-HYPPADEC) in Minna.
While commending the commission for the provision of the boats and the distribution of 10 000 life jackets to N-HYPPADEC member states, Comrade Garba urged Commissioners from the affected states to ensure that their various governments take up the responsibility of ensuring safety in their waterways.
The Managing Director of N-HYPPADEC, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa explained that the use of the boats will drastically reduce ocurence of mishaps in the benefiting communities.
“The traditional wooden boats that many rely on are often prone to accidents. Although they are widely used, the wooden boats can easily damage, and their susceptibility to sinking makes them dangerous, especially in harsh weather conditions or turbulent waters. It is against this backdrop that we have taken a bold step to procure and distribute these thirty-three (33) modern fiber glass boats.
These boats are a significant improvement over the traditional wooden boats”.
He explained that the fabre glass boats are more durable, safer and offer superior performance in navigating rivers.
However while still at the boats commissioning event, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA ) broke the sad news of 11 people killed and 41,192 others displaced by ravaging flood across 19 local government areas of the state.
The Director General of NSEMA,
Abdullahi Baba Arah said in a statement, “sadly, we have lost 11 people to the flood, 5 in Mokwa LGA, 2 each in Shiroro and Munya LGAs , and 1 each in Katcha and Rijau LGAs”.
He said a total of 246 school infrastructures have also been washed away; adding, “we can also report that as of September, this year, 18 bridges and 80 culverts have been destroyed by floods, causing communication problems for people in the affected areas”.
The DG hinted that the state may also be facing serious food shortages because the flood has affected. 118,692 hectares of farmlands, some of which had crops ready for harvests, adding that over I600 fish ponds were also washed away.
He said, “This is not surprising because the rain- fall pattern this year as predicted by NIMET has placed Niger state among the first line states of the Federation that will be affected by flood caused by heavy rains”.
He explained that since the floods are occasioned by the overflowing of the various dams in the state and blocking of the waterways with refuse dumps, adding that “Niger State Government has approved immediate procurement of food and non food items to assist the affected people.