Taraba flood victims groan over alleged neglect

• As group appeals for urgent supplies to Kogi victims

Victims of recent flood disasters in Ibi, Lau and Karim-Lamido Councils of Taraba State have appealed to Nigerians to come to their aid.

They expressed disappointment that the state government, which ought to assist them first with relief items, has not been forthcoming.

Water levels in some of the affected communities, The Guardian noted, had risen above tolerable limits.

Some of the residents, who bared their minds, said they have become helpless and unable to deal with the situation.

Apart from the heavy rainfalls, the alleged overflow of water from Lagdo Dam in neighbouring Cameroun was also blamed for the development.

A victim, Dauda Aliyu, said: “Apart from this cloth I am putting on, I am left with nothing.”

But a top government official, who claimed relief materials had been sent out, said: “There are more plans for the victims,” adding: “The plans are all in the pipeline and will soon be unveiled.”

Also, the chairman of Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET), Idris Ozovehe Muraina, has appealed to the Kogi State government to urgently ameliorate the effects of the devastating flood on the people.

Muraina made the call, yesterday when he led other members of the group to flooded areas in Lokaja and environs for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the ravaging flood.

At Adankolo Estate and Adankolo Extension, where many houses have been deserted, as the owners moved to higher grounds, the chairman said the magnitude of the flood was more than the 2012 disaster.

At the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) Camp at St. Luke Primary School, Adankolo, the chairman called for immediate food supply and medical attention, particularly for vulnerable children and women who lost their entire livelihood to the flood.

He said: “Government needs to urgently provide succour to the people, particularly at the IDP camps across the state. From our interaction with them, what they need, very urgently, is food, shelter and medical attention, particularly the children and women.”