Flood: Borno gov seeks extra N61bn, 70 communities sink in Kogi

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has requested the state House of Assembly to approve an additional N61bn to be added to the N358.7bn budget which was signed into law on January 10, 2024.

The governor’s request was read on the floor of the State Assembly on Friday by the Speaker of the House, Abdulkarim Lawan, seeking to amend the 2024 Appropriation Act.

Zulum said the additional fund would target key infrastructures that were severely damaged by the September 10 flood which affected nearly two million people and completely submerged parts of Maiduguri and surrounding LGAs.

Similarly, the Kogi State Government has appealed to the Federal Government to urgently intervene as flood submerged 70 communities in some parts of the state.

The Deputy Governor, Joel Salifu, made the appeal during an inspection tour of the flooded Edeha community in the Kogi Local Government Area.

Salifu, who doubles as the state Chairman for the 2024 Kogi State Flood Disaster Response Committee, said despite the state’s preparedness for the flood, the present situation in Edeha and other communities along the route had gone beyond what the state alone could handle.

The Deputy Governor affirmed that all the necessary steps have been put in place at the 48 IDP camps set up across the state, two of which are in Kotonkarfe-Kogi.

In his response, the Chief of the Edeha community, Abdullahi Isah, commended the state government for its promptness in visiting them.

Isah, who corroborated the deputy governor’s plea for the federal government’s help, said about 70 to 80 communities were affected by the flood.