Persons displaced by 2012 flood in Edo still live in camps

In Kogi, politicians take over houses meant for victims

Four years after the 2012 flood disaster that ravaged Edo, Delta and Kogi states, many displaced persons are still staying in public buildings in the affected local councils, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Five villages, Daba, Anegbette, Oghomere, Udochi and Ukepeko in Etsako Central Local Council of Edo State were displaced by the disaster. Similarly, houses and food crops worth millions of Naira were destroyed, leaving residents with no option than to relocate to public buildings.

Although some have moved out of the camps, many who had no option are still at the temporary camps.

However, the 235 housing units constructed for victims of flood disaster in Kogi State are being occupied by politicians and other unintended beneficiaries. The houses, located at Old Polytechnic Quarters, Lokoja, comprise two-bedroom and one-bedroom flats.

The estate was built with donations received from the federal government, corporate organisations and other philanthropists. According to NAN, the houses had been converted to other uses including nursery and primary schools and other purposes different from what they were built for.

Some of the illegal occupants were discovered to control between two and three houses at the expense of the people they were meant for.

Some of the victims of the disaster expressed disappointment at the manner the issue was handled by previous governments in the state. They complained that the former administration of the state had reneged on its promise to allocate the houses to them before vacating office.

Yakubu Abubakar, a victim, said he had been waiting endlessly for the house. He urged the state government to distribute them to the affected persons.

Another victim, Ohiani Gomina, said although allocation letters had been distributed to the affected persons, they could not move in due to government’s failure to eject the illegal occupants.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Abdulkarim Abdulmalik, said Governor Yahaya Bello was aware of the problem.

He said the problem was one of the numerous inherited from the immediate past administration, assuring that the issue would be investigated soon.