The executive director, Connected Development (CODE), Ambassador Hamzat Lawal, has called on government, private organizations and other spirited individuals to come to the aide of those displaced by the ravaging flood in Kogi State and other parts of the country.
Lawal stated this in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, during the weekend while presenting items worth over N2million to flood victims at the Gadumo Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp.
Lawal, who was represented by Umar Dan Asabe Mohammed, noted that government and private individuals must come to the aid of the people, who are in critical need of survival.
He, however, stressed that government must provide adequate security at the IDP camps to prevent hoodlums from invading the camps as witnessed during the intervention provided by the organisation.
Hamza stressed that a situation where touts could move freely into the IDP camps to deprive flood victims of their legitimate succour provided for them by government agencies, private organizations and individuals, was not healthy.
For his part, Executive Director of the facilitating organisation, Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation (RECEF), Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, said that there were over 500,000 persons displaced by the flood in Kogi State by their assessment, saying that only a very negligible number was accommodated in the camps visited.
While commending the government for providing security in some of the camps visited, the ED, however, lamented the near absence of security at the Gadumo flood victims Camp, thereby making it possible for hoodlums to have free access to the premises.
He lamented that the porous nature of the camp made it vulnerable for hoodlums usually to invade the place to deprive legitimate flood victims of the assistance from government and private individuals.
Some of the victims, who spoke to our correspondent, commended RECEF and its partner for the timely intervention, saying that the Gadumo flood victims camp was almost forgotten until the two NGOs waded in.
Mr Alexander Amana, Mrs. Monica Agbaja and others in their separate comments, thanked the organizations for their efforts in alleviating their sufferings.
According to them, they have suffered untold hardship in the camp, ranging from lack of water, medical facility and other essential needs.
While thanking the government and other private organizations for coming to their aide, they stressed that government must do everything possible to prevent touts from invading their camps anytime assistance was provided for them.
Mrs. Henry Hellen, the State Coordinator, Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (AONN), while commending the organisations for assisting the vulnerable twin children, whose mother died during the flood, lamented that other children have become orphaned by the devastating flood in Kogi State and called more assistance to the victims.
The Programme Manager of RECEF,
Ikechukwu Mpama, while thanking CODE for the intervention, stressed the need for government to wade in, saying that there was very little the private organizations can do, owing to the magnitude of the devastation.
He added that Connected Development had assisted RECEF to achieve its core mandate of alleviating the sufferings of the downtrodden masses in the society.
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