From Abdullateef Aliyu and Yvonne Ugwuezuoha, Lagos
The federal government has kicked off the direct distribution of grains from its silos and other relief materials to the victims of the 2022 flood in Lagos State through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Lagos State Government.
This is just as NEMA disclosed that seven people lost their lives while 24,131 households were affected by the flood as 920 houses and over 300 hectares of rice were flooded.
The Director General (DG) of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, who was represented by Dr Bamidele Omonide of the Lagos State Territorial Office of NEMA, said the agency had worked with different parastatals, including the state’s Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, to assess the damage in order to guide the relief intervention to persons in need of support.
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He said, “The results of the assessment indicated about 24,131 households were affected by the flash floods, seven deaths were recorded, 920 houses affected, over 300 cultivated hectares of rice, cassava and yam farmlands submerged and livestock, including cattle, goats, turkey and pigs were not spared.”
He further said that the assessment reports were forwarded to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs following which President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of 12,009 metric tonnes of grains from the National Strategic Reserve Stock for distribution to all states of the federation.
He added that, “The quantity of grains approved and delivered to the Lagos State Government include 160 metric tonnes of maize, 141.4 metric tonnes of sorghum and 64.2 metric tonnes of Garri.”
The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, who was represented by the Director, Lagos State Agricultural Training Institute, Yinka Omirin, appreciated the federal government for the gesture.
She said that the Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration was also at the forefront of ensuring that the effects of the disaster were faced with mitigated measures to reduce their impacts on affected Lagosians.
