Abbas: National assembly working with states to assist flood victims

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, says the national assembly is working with state governments to assist residents affected by flooding in many parts of the country.

On Tuesday, thousands of residents fled their homes in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, following a flood that ravaged swathes of Fori, Galtimari, Gwange, and Bulabulin areas of the city.

The flood occurred due to the collapse of the Alau dam, which has been at full capacity for the past week.

Other states affected by floods are Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara, have also been affected by floods.

Speaking with journalists at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday after meeting with Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Abbas said efforts are underway to assist victims of the disaster.

“We have taken measures to address that by giving palliatives, and we have also reached out to NEMA and also advised to assist the victims there,” Abbas said.

“We are making efforts with the governor of Niger state to see what we can do by the national assembly to help and also all the other states that are affected; we will do what we can to help.

“I am here today to commiserate with his excellency, the vice-president over the devastating flooding incidents in Maidugiri.

“That is the purpose of my visit here, and I used that opportunity to discuss extensively the problems and the situation of the people, particularly those affected in Maiduguri.

“We have also designed some strategies and solutions by both the national assembly and the presidency that will be implemented in the next few days to bring succour to the victims of the flood in Maiduguri.”

The speaker said the distribution of the N3 billion donated by the federal government to flood victims in Maiduguri would be transparent and supervised by Babagana Zulum, governor of the state.