… Give Palliatives, Promise Better Legislation to Forestall Future Occurrences
For over three weeks running, thousands of travellers and residents of Lokoja, Kogi State capital have experienced severe hardship due to heavy flooding.
The importance of the Lokoja-Abuja road which connects the North and South has practically been cut off, thereby paralyzing economic activities, including food supply chain from the North to the South, and other economic activities.
Addressing victims of the flood disaster around his constituency, Mallam Bala Dirisu expressed sincere condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in recent devastating floods in parts of Kogi state
and wished speedy recovery for the injured undergoing treatment.
While recalling important assistance from the state government, officials and staff members of the National Emergency Management Agency, CSOs, philanthropist as well as private organizations and friendly people of the state to the flood victims, he further stated that the food assistance is to cushion the effect of the displacement and offer support to brothers and sisters who are traumatized.
The Kogi State Youth Leader of NRM, Mohammed Shigaba Dangana, thanked the Senatorial Candidate for the timely humanitarian assistance that will help complement the basic needs of the disaster-affected people.
The Youth O’clock Movement for Bala A. Dirisu (YOMBAD) who in there numbers visited the St. Luke’s Adankolo Primary School Internally displaced Persons Camps, assured that if elected Mallam Bala Abdulghafar Dirisu would strive to make legislation that will bring permanent solution to the perennial flooding.
The NRM Candidate for Kogi west Senatorial District, according to the State Youth Leader of the party says the candidate has also earmark funds to support victims of flooding in all the affected Local Governments comprising the constituency namely : Lokoja
local government and kotonkarfe local Government areas (LGAs) of the state.
The gesture he explained is to enable vulnerable families, particularly in Lokoja and Kotonkarfe
LGAs, which are the most impacted areas in the state, to cope with the devastating flood water which has affected homes, farmlands and forced residents of affected communities to relocate to safer places.
Mr Dirisu attributed the ugly and unfortunate incident to lack of commitment and political will from the government to tackle life threatening issues that affect not only the people of the state but make life hard for the nation at large.
He holds the opinion that dredging of the Niger and other rivers, building of dams along flood plains, opening more water channels and reservoirs, resettlement of residence in disaster/flood prune areas and other natural disasters like earthquakes and erosions will help prevent this disaster in the future.
Dirisu urged the populace to vote against candidates that don’t have them in mind and would act in the overall interest of the people and not for selfish few. He said the 2023 elections is a referendum against evil leaders, vowed to make a difference when elected as Senator to represent the good people of Kogi West.
Receiving the items on behalf of the displaced persons, Aliyu Adoga,
Coordinator of the Adankolo camp, on behalf of the State Emergency Management Agency, said 319 persons are registered in the camp, but has over 1000 persons who are daily taken care off and provided palliatives.
The Camp Coordinator on behalf of SEMA, thanked the NRM Senatorial District Flagbearer for reaching out to the displaced persons, assured that the items distributed would be used for the purposes intended.
Similarly, the Camp leader Mohammed Ismaila on behalf of the displaced persons thanked the donor for his good gestures, prayed God to grant him his heart desires.
The items donated by the NRM Senatorial District Flagbearer for Kogi West include noddles, drinking water, blankets, milk and other daily essentials.