The Federal Government on Thursday presented relief items to the Adamawa Government for distribution to victims of recent flood in the state.
Presenting the items in Yola, Mustapha Ahmed, the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the items provided would bring succor to the affected persons, and not for compensation.
Ahmed, who was represented by Mohammed Kanar, NEMA’s Deputy Director, Human Resource, said the items included 10kg of 1,400 bags of maize; 1,400 bags of beans; 1,400 bags of rice; 75 cartoons of tin tomatoes; 75 bags of salt; 1,000 cartons of seasoning cubes; and 75 kegs of 20 litres of vegetable oil.
Others were 1,000 pieces of children’s wear, 1,000 pieces of women’s wear, 1,000 pieces of men’s wear, 1,000 pieces of mosquito nets, 600 cartons of toilet soap, 8,000 pieces of mats, and 2,500 pieces of guinea brocade.
He added that more interventions are also expected from the federal government to ease the hardship faced by the victims.
Receiving the items, Alhaji Bashir Ahmad, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), appreciated the federal government’s gesture.
The SSG assured that the items would be immediately distributed to the victims without delay.
Dr Suleiman Muhammad, the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), confirmed that the flood had claimed 51 lives while 71 sustained injuries.
He added that over 171,000 properties were affected, over 10,000 persons displaced and over 80,000 hectares of farmlands were destroyed by the flood across the 21 local government areas of the state.
According to him, the agency has been directed by Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri to commence the distribution of the items.
He added that the state government too had earlier distributed some relief items for the second time, but more assistance was needed because of the high number of affected persons.
“We are now going to start the distribution today as directed by the state governor to reduce the hardship faced by the victims,” he said.