Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state was on Monday filled with emotions while condoling with the family that lost four of its six children at Angwan Gwari in the Suleja flood disaster which occurred on Saturday morning.
The governor, according to a statement issued in Minna Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mary Noel Barje, expressed sadness over the disaster during a sympathy visit and commiserate with victims who were still counting their losses.
According to the statement, an emotion laden Governor Bello said, “it is sad that one family lost four children. What do you say to such parents? The best we can do at this point is to pray for God to guide and protect them and to give them the peace and strength to bear the losses.”
He regretted that 13 lives were lost, 9 persons still missing as at Monday while 431 houses were destroyed.
Bello expressed concern over the manner in which people built structures on waterways in major towns of the state and ordered the demolition of such structures.
According to him, “people indulge in the habit of building on waterways indiscriminately not minding the dangers involved,” adding that water will always find its way no matter how long it takes.
He appealed to the people of the state to cooperate and support the urban development and the environmental protection agencies as well as the local government authority when they are out to enforce the directive of identifying houses on water channels.
He said those affected would be relocated to safer places with the view to demolishing their houses to avoid recurrence of the disaster.
Other measures to avoid reoccurrence of the disaster, according to the governor include evacuation of refuse and desilting of water channels, expansion of culverts and opening up of alternative roads in major cities.
