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Over one thousand flood victims cut across 13 LGAs in Katsina State on Thursday benefited from relief items distributed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The items were handed over to the state government by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sa’adiya Umar Farouk in the company of the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Kabir Ahmed at the Katsina Native Authority premises.
Although the minister didn’t give the cost of the materials, Mustapha Ahmed told reporters that the relief items were deployed in seven trailer loads comprising food and non-food items.
He, however, called on beneficiaries to desist from building structures on water channels and ensure that they clear their drainages and water channels regularly to avert future recurrence.
The NEMA DG recalled that the agency had since before the commencement of this year’s seasonal rainfall, issued warning messages across the possible flood risk areas in the federation for residents to be on the alert.
“And we had advised each state to set up Local Emergency Management Committee so that to tackle disaster management from the grassroots,” he added.
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The 17 assorted relief items delivered for the distribution include; 3,000 bags of 10 kilograms of rice, 3,000 bags of 10 kilograms of maize, 3,000 bags of 10 kilograms of beans, 100 kegs of 20 litres of vegetable oil, 200 cartons of seasoning cube, 300 bags of 20 kilograms of iodized salt, 1,000 bags of 50 kilograms of cement and 100 bags of 25 kilograms of nails.
Other items include 300 bundles of roofing sheets, 100 packs of zinc nails, 500 pieces of mattresses, 1,000 pieces of blankets, 5,000 pieces of nylon mats, 2,000 pieces of mosquito treated nets, 4,000 pieces of five yards of Guinea Brocade, 500 pieces of wax prints and 1,000 pieces of children’s wears.
In a related development, Sa’adiya Farouk has flagged off a cash grant of N20,000 each to 7,000 vulnerable persons in the state for them to either start a business or add to their capital.
This is part of the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration towards eradicating poverty and lifting the lives of poor and vulnerable persons amounting to over ten million across the country.
The occasion, which took place at the Katsina Government House Banquet, saw the presence of beneficiaries mostly women, physically challenged persons as well as disabled persons drawn from the 34 LGAs of the State.
While giving a rundown of assorted programs under the National Social Investment Program, she explained that the programs were introduced in 2016 by President Buhari to tackle the issues of poverty, unemployment, and other related ills in society.
“We have four major programs under this. We have the N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer, GIP program, and Homegrown School Feeding Program.
“In particular, we have 50 thousand beneficiaries of N-Power, 50 thousand GIP beneficiaries, over one million pupils fed, and over 100 thousand households benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer in the state.
“All these programs are geared towards eradicating poverty and lifting the lives of poor and vulnerable people amounting to over ten million across the country,” she noted.