The committee set up by the Borno State government to help victims of the Maiduguri flood disaster has criticized the House of Representatives for rejecting a proposal to allocate N300 billion in emergency support for flood victims. The committee argued that the damage caused by the flood was much greater, reaching into trillions of naira.
The motion for the N300 billion grant was introduced by Hon. Amos Magaji, who represents Jaba/Zangon/Kataf in Kaduna State, to address the widespread destruction of homes, markets, and health centers. However, the proposal was rejected by the House on Wednesday.
Prof. Ibrahim Umara, co-chair of the relief committee, expressed frustration with the rejection, highlighting the severe damage in the affected communities. He pointed out that hundreds of thousands of people were affected, with many losing their homes. Umara also criticized bloggers who were spreading exaggerated information about the flood relief efforts, saying the situation was far worse than what was being reported online.
He explained that only N7 billion of the N13 billion pledged by donors had been received so far, which was not enough to meet the victims’ needs. Umara urged those spreading misinformation to visit Maiduguri and see the damage for themselves, and called on the media to focus on helping rather than making baseless claims.
