The Bauchi State Executive Council has confirmed that 24 lives were lost as well as property worth over N22bn destroyed due to continual floods in 16 local government areas of the state.
The council announced this on Monday declaring that it has brought an inter-ministerial committee to evaluate the indemnity caused by the destructive natural disaster.
Speaking with newsmen at the aftermath of the council’s meeting, the commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajara Wanka who revealed that the ministry is still compiling its report cited, “But from the report they have recorded, 24 lost their life, 163 injured, 16 local Government areas affected, 60 culverts washed away, 12 major roads were cut off, 178 electric poles were destroyed, 11,183 livestock and 122,330 households were affected and, 52,000 houses were destroyed.
“When such an incident happened, the victims were kept in primary schools and later they joined their relatives in the town they didn’t open any Internally Displaced Persons camp.”
Wanka also established that the council has ratified the release of funds to rehabilitate damaged structures, including culverts, access roads, schools, and public buildings.She maintained that the committee’s formation followed a directive from the Federal Government to ascertain the magnitude of the disaster, which affected many states in the federation.
“The committee, chaired by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Aminu Hammayo, will comprise relevant commissioners as members, with the Secretary to the State Government, Ibrahim Kashim, monitoring its activities, “she stated.
On his part, Dallami Kawule the Commissioner for Housing and Environment, revealed that he had instructed his ministry to crack down on structures built on waterways across the state.
He stated that the move aimed to avert future flood disasters as assessments indicated that blockage of waterways exacerbated the problem.
In his remarks, Jamila Ɗahiru, commissioner for Education, said, “The Ministry of Education has secured approval for the renovation and remodelling of the state Education Resource Center, which will be merged with the newly commissioned Zainab Bulkachuwa ICT Center to form a world-class learning centre to boost education and Learning in the state.”
