Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on flood victims in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital, to adhere strictly to government’s guidelines on evacuation in order to minimise further harm to lives and property.
Atiku gave this counsel in response to the floods in the state which has ravaged farmlands and displaced thousands of residents.
In a posted on his X handle on Tuesday, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, noted that the catastrophic flooding in Maiduguri has reached the level of a dire national emergency, adding it has plunged a significant portion of Maiduguri into an urgent humanitarian crisis.
The PDP Stalwart said, as he was informed by available statistics from National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the recent floods have damaged approximately 16,488 hectares of farmland across 27 states; destroyed 32,000 houses, and impacted no less than 227,000 people.
He, therefore, implored the pertinent federal relief agencies to expedite their efforts in mitigating the effects of the calamity.
“My heart goes out to the people and government of Borno State government as they grapple with the profound economic repercussions of this disaster”, he said.