Flood kills 8, destroys 60,000 farms in Jigawa
Eight persons died in the recent flood that occurred in Jigawa State, Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Yusuf Sani Babura, said.
Babura, while speaking with journalists in Dutse, at the weekend, said the flood was caused by heavy rainfall and water from Gamadugu river.
“Eight people lost their lives under different circumstances as a result of the flood. Three persons died in Babura, one in Hadejia, two in Kiyawa and the other three were from two other local government areas,” he said.
He said information compiled from 16 out of the affected local government areas indicated that about 60,000 farmlands covering a distance of a about a kilometre from both sides of the over flowing River Gamadugu, were washed away.
On the value of the amount of property destroyed, Babura said the agency was still trying to ascertain that, and that as soon as it was done, they would make the data available.
“The volume of destruction is enormous and the burden will be too heavy for the state to bear. So as soon as we finish compiling our data, we will reach out to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), international donors and well spirited individuals for assistance,” he said. The Executive Secretary said the state government discovered that the presence of Typha grass at the lower part of Gamadugu river, contributed to the recent flood, because it blocks free flow of water.
He added that to avoid a similar disaster, government ordered the clearance of the river. The Federal Ministry of Aviation, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have resolved to work together to stamp out corruption in the Aviation industry.
The decision was taken last week during a meeting with the Federal Ministry of Aviation and ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, it was gathered.
The meeting was attended by chief executives of aviation agencies including the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), among others, as well as airport stakeholders like Customs and Immigration.
It was gathered that the meeting was a follow up to the Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) project being carried out by the ICPC aimed at exterminating corruption from the aviation industry.
The ICPC believes the sector is a very sensitive one that is prone to corruption.
At the meeting held at the NCAA office annex in Lagos, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello, said that as part of the overall efforts to engender growth, confidence and transparency in the aviation industry, it was imperative to collaborate with the ICPC to drastically reduce the incidents of corruption in the sector.
Bello said the current effort was made possible through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ministry and ICPC in 2014.
According to her, the MoU involves continuous and sustained deployment of ICPC staff to maintain surveillance at major airports and infusion of ethical values into professional practices of stakeholders in the aviation sector.
Others are mandatory training at ICPC academy on ethics, professional standards, moral values for officials in the industry and installation of ICPC facilities such as CCTV cameras for the detection of corrupt officers.
She stated also that this collaboration has reduced the activities of touts at the Lagos and Abuja international airports.
The Permanent Secretary urged ICPC to sustain the tempo of its surveillance activities at the nation’s airports.
The Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Muhtar Usman and the Managing Director of FAAN, Eng Saleh Dunoma expressed their commitment to the success of the MoU in order to eliminate corrupt practices in the industry.