The presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi has commiserated with households whose homes where affected by the recent flash floods in Trade More Estate in Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja.
It will be recalled that a heavy downpour that occurred in Abuja last Friday left several houses submerged, destroying properties worth millions of naira.
In his message on Twitter, Peter Obi advised the authorities to find a lasting solution to the recurrent flooding challenge in the area.
Read tweet:
“The flooding incident at Trademore Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, which has resulted in the loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira is a major disaster and is very heartbreaking. Reports have it that the estate had suffered similar incidents in the past. While I appreciate the NEMA, Fire Service, FCT FEMA, Red Cross, and Federal Ministry of Environment-Flood Department for doing their best to alleviate the situation, there is still a need to find a lasting solution to this recurrent flooding challenge in that area of the nation’s capital city. Lasting preemptive safety measures need to be employed to reduce the deadly impact of floods in this and other flood-prone areas across the country. Weather experts had repeatedly warned earlier in the year about these flooding episodes.
In the meantime, urgent humanitarian help should be provided to the residents in the areas of evacuation. Accommodation, relief materials and health care should be provided to enable them to carry on with their normal lives.
My heart goes out in sympathy to all those who are affected by this unfortunate flooding incident. May God grant eternal rest to the departed and succour to the displaced and all those whose lives have been disrupted by this sad incident. – PO”
Unspecified numbers of People were trapped in their Houses and many have been displaced at the Trade Moore Area of Lugbe in Abuja due to hours of ceaseless rainfall on Friday morning.
In videos posted on social media, houses, vehicles, and other structures were submerged in the downpour, trapping some occupants inside and others outside.
Speaking with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warned residents to vacate areas that are vulnerable to flooding to avoid loss of lives.
“If you know you are leaving in a house that is built on a waterway, in a flood-prone area that place is marchy, if it is vulnerable to flooding kindly move to a safer place, if for nothing to save lives.
“Properties can go, the word of God says that when you are alive there’s hope, you would be able to get another property. So the message today is this we have all seen what has happened, the water submerged vehicles and we were made to understand that the water can even cover persons.
“Don’t undermine, don’t underrate the power of water it can wash people, vehicles and houses away. So we are pleading because we don’t want to have any loss of lives or properties.”
Meanwhile, NEMA disclosed that from search and rescue activity at Imo Street, Trade More Estate Lugbe, Abuja, a Peugeot 406 driver with registration no. YLA 681 FS drowned in the flood and still missing.
The agency also revealed that four persons were rescued and in stable condition.
