Flood kills 3, destroys 1,400 houses in Bauchi

Flood has claimed three lives and destroyed 1, 400 houses and properties worth millions of naira in Zaki and Gamawa local government area councils of Bauchi State.

This is just as the governor, Bala Mohammed, called on the Federal Government to actualise the Kafin Zaki dam project for a lasting solution.

Speaking when he paid a visit to commiserate with the people of the affected areas over the weekend, the governor said the Kafin Zaki dam project was the lasting solution that would end the perennial flooding that has led to untold suffering of people of the affected communities.

Mohammed said the $10 million provided by the Federal Government with support from international partners as succour to address the problem would not provide a lasting solution.

He said: “We have taken steps with the Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASWPA) to take a census of what has been destroyed.

“The Federal Government has provided $10 million but this is a far cry from what we require here in terms of infrastructure, drainage, and so on.

“What we need here is the actualisation of the Kafin Zaki dam that will arrest and harness the water resources that we have coming from the Dilimi River and Jamare river.”

Governor Mohammed further advised that technology should be deployed to create and discharge surfaces dam to communities in Borno and Yobe states to ensure that their areas are not dry.

He added: “I am calling on the Federal Government to urgently address this issue by bringing all the communities that are suffering into the downstream communities so that perception problem and agitation would be allayed.

“We would be able to harness the water resources with the huge potential for agriculture and development in these areas.

“Anything other than that is just scratching the surface. We have to do it because you can see what is happening in Jigawa and other places.”

The governor, however, announced a donation of two trailers of maize totalling 1200 bags and two vehicles of medical needs to the victims.

He further directed the Bauci State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Nuhu Zaki, to provide14 boats to ease movement of stranded residents of communities in the area.

The Star

Editor