NEDC Donates Food, Non-food Items to Gombe Flood Victims

Segun Awofadeji in  Gombe

As part of efforts to cushion the devastating effects of flood disaster on victims in Bauchi State, the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) has donated assorted food and non-food items to the state government.

The food and non-food items donated to the state government by the commission include 10,000 25kg bags of rice, 5,000 blankets, 5,000 mats, 3,000 gallons of vegetable oil, 5,000 pieces of wrappers, 3,000 pieces of Shada and 3,000 children’s clothes.

The NEDC Managing Director,  AlhajiMohammed Goni Alkali who presented the items on behalf of the commission to Governor Bala Mohammed at the Government House in Bauchi yesterday, sympathised with the people of the state over the devastating effects of the flood in some parts of the state.

NEDC boss, who lauded the state governor over the state government efforts to contain the effects of flood in the state, said that the commission wrote a letter to the state government in order to synergise by providing preventive measures to address issues of flood disaster in the future.

“One of the reason we are here is that on the 18th of August in Maiduguri, the World Humanitarian Day was celebrated under the leadership of Mr. President and in that occasion, we as a commission promised that we are going to show our humanitarian face to the people of the North-eastern states and we promised to providing food and non-food items.

“The President received our pronouncement and handed over to the Vice-Chairman of a committee he set up to settle and rehabilitate IDPs in the North-east. The committee is currently dissolved, but we were directed to go and give the items we promised to each state.

“The third reason why we are here, Your Excellency, as you know, we have many projects going on in the state, we have the road projects from Kirfi to Gombe Abba. We have the housing project going on, we have in each of the  tertiary institutions in education and health, either federal or state, projects going on. We want to discuss, articulate and come back here in no distance future to do the ground-breaking ceremonies as well as the foundation laying ceremonies for these projects,” he said. 

Responding, the Governor Mohammed commended the humanitarian commission for its laudable programmes, projects and initiatives that have positively impacted the North-east region that has been ravaged by activities of insurgency.

The governor who noted that the NEDC is one of the legacies President Muhammadu Buhari will leave behind in the country, appreciated the gesture of the commission, saying that the donation was timely, considering the extent of damages wreaked by flood in the state.

“What you have brought is beyond our expectations, but like Oliver Twist, we have written you already, even before you sent a letter. Again, you wrote a letter immediately about this flood that happened in the country. I want to appreciate your observations and condolences because lives and properties were lost. Some of our local governments were cut-off and they are in the Northern part of the country.

“You cannot go to Zaki local government now, you have to go through Jigawa or Kano states and even the contiguous local governments are not connected. The wash-out was so monumental because of the flood coming from Jama’re and Ningi River and this is because we have not been able to provide water resource solution to the amount of flood that is coming around this area,” he said.