) The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Niger on Saturday distributed relief materials to 715 victims of flood in Paikoro and Bosso Local Government Areas of the state.
Mrs Lydia Wagami, Head, NEMA Minna Operations Office, flagged-off the distribution of the relief items at Bosso Local Government Secretariat in Maikunkele.
Wagami, who was represented by Alhaji Hussaini Isah, Head, Search and Rescue Unit, said the flood disaster which occurred in August, affected 715 households and farmlands in 57 communities of the two local government areas.
She noted that the Director-General of NEMA, AVM Muhammadu Muhammed, directed the Minna operations office to assess the level of damage in order to provide relief assistance to the affected persons.
“It is based on the assessment report that President Muhammadu Buhari who is always passionate about reaching the grassroots approved the relief items for the affected persons,’’ she said.
Wagami added that the relief items were to ameliorate the hardship caused by the flood on the people.
She mentioned the relief items to include:715 bags of 12.5kg rice, 715 bags of 12.5kg maize, 715 backs of 25kg beans, 72 kegs of vegetable oil, 120 cartons of maggi seasoning and 60 cartons of tin tomato.
Others were 36 bags of salt, 1,430 pieces of foam mattresses, 1,430 pieces of wax prints, 1,430 pieces of mosquito nets, 1,430 pieces of blanket, 600 bags of cement, 600 bundles of roofing sheet, 160 packets of zinc nail, 80 bags of 3 inches nail.
She appealed to beneficiaries not sell the items but use them to improve their living conditions and advised them to avoid activities that would endanger their lives during the rainy season.
In his remarks, Alhaji Ahmed Inga, Director-General of the state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), who was represented by Malam Garba Salihu, Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, advised the beneficiaries to maintain peace while receiving the relief items.
Responding on behalf of the two local government areas, Alhaji Abubakar Gomna, Chairman of Bosso, commended the Federal Government for its quick intervention as the relief items would help to cushion the effects of the flood disaster.
Some of the beneficiaries, Hafsat Muhammed and Hassan Madaki, appreciated the Federal government for the relief items, adding that the gesture would go a long way in reducing their hardships.
