, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and 8 other flood-affected states Qualify for Lagasse of FG

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate dispatch of special teams to immediately deliver needed assistance to 12 states that re most ravaged by the seasonal rains. He declared this on Saturday after taking stock of the flood situation in the country.

The states to receive the teams conveying reinforcement of reliefs and other equipment through the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, are Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Edo, Anambra, Delta, Kano, Jigawa, Rivers, Bayelsa and Adamawa.

President Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, expressed empathy with the victims of the floods, many of whom may have lost family members, homes and valuable investments in agricultural crops and live stocks.

The President stressed the need for synergy between the federal and state government agencies which deals with the issue of flood management. And clled for improved forecasting and warning systems to avert predictable disasters. .

Meanwhile, primary and secondary schools in Bayelsa State have again been asked to close down barely two weeks of reopening from the COVID-19 shutdown following the rise in flood levels in most parts of the state in a bid to prevent the loss of lives.

Governor Douye Diri gave the directive after visiting some communities most hit by the flood disaster. The situation of most communities including Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, is quite frightening. Communities like Agudama, Ekpetiama, Igbogene, and Amassoma and some parts of Yenagoa metropolis saw homes deserted and the occupants looking for safer bode.

It would be recalled tht the Nigerian Metrological Agency, NIMET, had earlier predicted that the rains this year will exceed that of 2012.