No fewer than 680 people have been displaced in 70 communities in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, following heavy downpour in the last couple of days, with the authorities putting the damages caused in the excess of N300million.

With the rains forecasted to persist until the end of November, the state government yesterday restated its call on people residing along river banks to relocate.

Sixteen of the communities were completely washed away by the flood which also affected farmlands and domestic animals.

This incident followed a heavy downpour witnessed across the country and high tide in the Atlantic Ocean, rivers Niger and Benue which run through the centre of the country in the recent time.

The Chairman of Patigi Local Government, Alhaji Dauda Taoheed Lata, who conducted the government delegate round the affected areas, told newsmen that the victims had since been relocated to a camp within the local government.

The Council boss who conducted government delegate round the affected areas put the worth of the damage to farmlands and properties at N300million.

Lata further stated that the level of damage is beyond what the local government could bear and appealed to the state and federal governments to come to their aid in providing succor to the victims.

The Senior Special Adviser, Emergency Relief Material to Governor Ahmed, Musa Abdullahi, sympathized with victims and assured them of government assistance in no distant period.

He told them that the state government had raised a high power relief committee to look into adverse effect of flood in the state.

Abdullahi appealed to people residing along river banks across the state to relocate, saying that the flood according to weather forecast might persist till end of November.

Speaking in the same vein, the state Head of Service, Alh Dabarako Mohammed appealed to the Federal Government to proffer permanent solution to the perennial flooding by extending the dredging embarked upon to Jebba in order to save the area.

The state Commissioner for Industry, Alh Aliyu Umar, called on the Federal Government to pay special attention to the area because rivers Kaduna and Niger flow in their direction.
The areas affected by the flood include Gbaradogi, kpata, Mawogi, Gbafun, Sa'cci, Gakpan, Vuma, Esungi among others.

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