Jigawa Flood: Badaru visits victims as death toll rises to 33

The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru, has condoled with the victims of recent flooding in Jigawa State and announced a personal donation of N20 million to them.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that on Tuesday, the number of deaths from floods caused by rainfall reached 28 in the state.

Mr Badaru, who is the immediate past governor of the state, told reporters in Jigawa that 33 people had died from the flood disaster as of Saturday.

The former governor said the disaster affected 148 communities in 14 local government areas, about 50,000 people and over 11,500 households.

Mr Badaru said the flooding was due to a seven-day nonstop rainfall, the sort of which had never been seen in the state before in August.

He said regular flooding affected the state around the end of September when the dams overflowed.

The minister said the federal and state governments were doing what they could to address the menace.

“The government has been doing very well tackling the regular flooding by dredging the channels.

“This particular flooding was caused by excessive nonstop rainfall that has caused destruction and loss of lives. The governor is capable of handling the situation with the support of the Federal Government.

“The president is aware of the situation and will support the government of Jigawa State in tackling the reoccurrence of the problem.

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“In the Federal Government’s renewed hope agenda, there is the construction of dams the governor is taking up with the federal government to make sure that some of the dams are constructed in the state,” Mr Badaru said.

In his remarks, Governor Umar Namadi commended the minister for the visit, saying Mr Badaru had made sustained efforts at the federal level to assist in tackling the disaster and assist its victims.