LOKOJA – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]commenced the distribution of relief materials to victims of communal clashes in 51 communities spread across two local government areas of Kogi.
Mr Ishaya Chonoko, the Coordinator in charge of NEMA’s Abuja operations, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen in Lokoja.
He said that victims of flood, rainstorm and fire disasters which occurred in the state last year would also benefit from the gesture.
He said that some portion of the materials would be distributed to victims of communal clashes in Kupa district in Lokoja LGA and communities in Bagana, Omagede and Ogba in Omala LGA.
He listed the items being distributed to include building materials, clothes, household utensils and food items like rice and groundnut oil.
Chonoko said that over 49,000 victims including those displaced by communal clashes would benefit from the materials.
In her remark at the occasion, Mrs Alice Ogedengbe, the Executive Secretary, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA), thanked the Federal Government for the intervention and described as it `timely.’
She said that KOSEMA had taken measures to ensure that the materials get to the real victims.
She promised that the state government would explore the possibility of assisting the victims in transporting the materials free of charge to their various destinations.
Alhaji Maiyaki Isah, Makama of Kupa, who spoke on behalf of the victims from Kupa district, commended the federal government for its assistance and appealed to the state government to also come to their aid.
He said that some victims who were attacked by Fulani herdsmen in Ekpon, Amiza, Agini and six other communities in Kupa had sought refuge in Gwagwalada in the FCT and Niger State.
Maiyaki appealed to Kogi government to assist the victims in rebuilding their houses to enable them return home.
Mr Julius Atabor, who spoke on behalf of the victims from Omala Local Government Area, thanked NEMA for coming to their aid.
Atabor, who is the secretary of the local government, said that over 250 houses were burnt in the communal clash that occurred at Bagana, Omagede and Ogba communities. (NAN)