Flood displays over 5,000 families in Kogi

Flood has displaced over 5,000 families in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State.

It destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Mostly affected are communities close to the River Niger and Analo River, which overflowed their banks, submerging houses, schools and farmlands.

Residents were forced to vacate their homes. Some of the victims raised wooden platforms above the water level to serve as beds.

The Chairman of Ibaji Local Government Caretaker Committee, Mr. William Iko-Ojo, who led council officials on an inspection tour of the affected areas, lamented the plight of those displaced.

He said the victims were experiencing hardship, adding that many sought refuge in makeshift structures.

Iko-Ojo said: “The situation calls for urgent intervention, because Ibaji is totally submerged. From Onyedega, the council headquarters, up to Ujeh, down to the boundary, no structure is spared. Unless the government rescues the affected people, the situation may degenerate into a calamity.

“The local government is working hard to create Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camps, to resettle those rendered homeless, but their immediate need is food. The situation is so bad now. Even the palace of the traditional ruler of Ibaji, Chief John Egwemi, has been submerged.”

He urged the federal and state governments as well as donor agencies to assist the victims.

Eyewitnesses said farm produce were washed away by the flood, adding that the major road leading to the council’s headquarters from Idah had been cut off at different points.