No fewer than 20 communities have been ravaged by flood in Agatu local government of Benue State, following the torrential raindrops in the area throughout last week.
This has left scores of the villagers, who are greatly farmers homeless, while crops and livestock were destroyed in their large numbers.
DAILY POST gathered that, communities mostly affected include, Ayele, Ocholonya, Abugbe, Oshigbudu, Okokolo, Obihu and Utugolugwu, while parts of Obagaji, Enogaje and Enumgba were also ravaged.
In his reaction, the Ad’Agatu, the paramount ruler of Agatu local government, Chief Godwin Onah, raised serious concern over the development, saying, as agrarian communities, the effects of the floods would greatly tell on the outputs from their farms during the harvest.
Chief Onah, who personally visited some affected communities on Friday, also called on the state government to urgently come to the aid of his people for a relief and through well-constructed drainage system across the flood prone areas.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Sir John Ngbede, has sympathised with the people of Agatu local government area over the flood menace.
Speaking with our Correspondent during the PDP’s visit to the IDPs camp for flood victims in Makurdi on Thursday, Ngbede said it was not possible for the victims in Agatu to move to Makurdi IDPs camp.
He, therefore, implored the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the government to consider the displaced people of Agatu in distribution of relief materials.
On his part, the Agatu Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC),Simba Momoh, whose houses were greatly affected also called on Governor Samuel Ortom to come to the rescues of Agatu people, saying it would only take the intervention of the government to forestall further flooding in the area.
As of the time of filing this report on Sunday, the Supervisory Councillor for Finance and Appropriation in Agatu local government council, Hon. Ikwulono John Anthony, confirmed that the victims had not yet received any relief material from any individual or the authorities concerned.
“Though the LG Chairman, Hon. Mrs. Comfort Echoda has raised concern over the development, but for now, no one has donated to the victims in Agatu”, Ikwulono told our Reporter, Sunday evening.
DAILY POST also reports that, since there was no designated camp for IDPs in Agatu, the victims are currently scattered as refugees in the homes of their relatives, while others were currently putting up in their neighbouring Apa and Otukpo LGAs.
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