Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has finally commenced the distribution of relief materials to victims of the recent flood in Maiduguri.
The disaster, which affected nearly 2 million residents, was triggered by an overflow from Alau Dam, a situation which caused widespread damage to homes and infrastructure in the state capital.
Commencing the distribution on Tuesday, Zulum revealed that 5,235 households in Gwange 1, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, had already benefited from the first phase of relief distribution.
The Trumpet learnt that 587 households had their homes completely destroyed, 2,365 experienced minimal damage, and 2,283 households suffered partial destruction.
Zulum, who explained that relief efforts were categorized based on the severity of the damage, said families who experienced minimal damage will receive N100,000, along with food items, mats, blankets, and mosquito nets.
Households with more severe damage, according to him, would be compensated according to the extent of their losses.
He expressed gratitude to the federal government, various state governments, UN agencies, and numerous development partners, as well as corporate entities and individuals who contributed to the relief efforts.
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In a related development, the governor also announced that the Maiduguri flood relief fund had received approximately N7.5 billion in donations.
The contributions, as stated by him, came from state governments, individuals, and organizations both within and outside Nigeria.
Speaking yesterday during the inauguration of the relief disbursement committee, the governor reported that N4.4 billion had been credited to the dedicated relief account as of Sunday, September 22, 2024.
He assured the public of transparency in the use of the funds, promising to provide regular updates on the status of donations and their disbursement.
“In recent days, we have received pledges and funds totalling N13.19 billion. As of today, we have about N7.5 billion in our account,” Zulum stated.
