THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has commiserated with the government and people of Niger state following the flood disaster in the state, as well as the government and people of Kano state over the road accident which claimed the lives of its athletes and officials.
Recall that few days ago, Niger state experienced a devastating flood that claimed many lives, destroyed property and disrupted livelihoods.
The flood also submerged homes and other critical infrastructure, disrupted the haulage of goods, including foodstuff, to and from the southwestern states of the country.
In a statement signed and made available to newsmen by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad – Baba, ACF also mourned with the government and people of Kano State over the road accident that involved the State’s contingent, officials and journalists returning from the just concluded national sports festival in Ogun State.
Beyond its grim statistics of total loss of at least 20 lives, details of the road accident, according to officials of the state government are yet to be known.
The statement reads: “ACF deeply mourns the lives lost, prays to Almighty God to provide succour to survivors to enable them to remain resilient, with necessary strength to rebuild lives and livelihoods. May the injured return good health soonest.
“ACF prays that the tragic experiences will not be repeated anywhere in the states and indeed the country. With regards to the Mokwa tragedy, ACF had drawn attention to predictions of the possible occurrence of such floods and called on authorities at local, state and federal levels to ensure that adequate pro-active measures are taken to mitigate the impact of such phenomenon by way of massive public enlightenment and awareness campaigns to people in flood-prone areas preparatory to the negative expected impacts.
“ACF believes that there is still time to prepare for such predictable events, even if beyond human control. ACF therefore reiterates its call for adequate preparations by all concerned, to ensure that devastating consequences as witnessed at Mokwa will be minimised.
“ACF hereby repeats its call on public emergency agencies, aid organisations, to stock-up on essential resources with which to serve all who may come to need same, assist vulnerable communities with preparations, clear drainages and repair of related infrastructure, ensure strict enforcement of regulatory planning codes, town regional and environmental regulations.
“ACF also calls on citizens to observe sound environmental and hygienic practices, respect regulatory codes, laws and regulations, unblock drainages and water channels and desist from indiscriminate damping of refuse in unauthorised places.
“May God Almighty continue to protect our peoples and communities from natural and human induced calamities.”
