National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has been urged to immediately intervene by providing relief materials to the victims and to help in rebuilding their homes, worship places and schools following deaths and destruction of property by windstorm recently in Ebonyi State.
The Senate has also called on the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET and other relevant government agencies to be more proactive in predicting and giving early warning signals of natural disasters so that the people could take precautionary measures to minimize the disastrous effects of such natural disasters.
The Upper chamber has also mandated its Committee on Environment to visit the affected communities for on assessment of the damages and to make appropriate recommendations.
Resolutions of the Senate, Wednesday, were sequel to a motion by Senator Sam Egwu, PDP, Ebonyi North and entitled, “Destruction of lives and property in Ebonyi State by windstorm: Need for urgent action.”
Presenting the motion, Senator Egwu noted that “the recent calamity suffered by several communities in Ebonyi State as a result of the invasion of highly destructive windstorm resulting in the loss of lives and property.”
According to him, over 400 houses, including residences, churches and schools were blown away by the windstorm on April 24 at Ukwagba, Okposhi Eshi, Ekwashi, Iboko and Amaga communities in Ohaukwu, Izzi and Abakaliki local government areas of the state.
Egwu also lamented that thousands of citizens, including women and children were rendered homeless, while several places and schools have been shut down with hundreds of school children now out of school because of the disaster.
He expressed surprise that the windstorm was never predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency or any other relevant agency so that the people can be warned to take precautionary measures to minimize the disastrous effects of such natural disaster.
The senator added that despite the humanitarian crisis caused by this natural disaster, no agency of the federal government, including NEMA has come to the aid of the victims, either by way of providing them with relief materials or by helping them rebuild the structures that were destroyed by windstorm.”
