Dr. Muhammad Ali-Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare has provided medical outreach to flood victims in Bauchi state.

Speaking while inspecting the outreach in Misau and Katagum Local Government Areas of the state on Sunday, Pate said that the outreach was available to as many victims as possible.

According to him, the outreach was a collaboration of his privately funded Non-governmental organisation, Chigari foundation and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

While visiting the temporary Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP)’s camp in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum LGA, the Minister lauded the diligence and professionalism exhibited by the medical practitioners attending to the people.

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“The people are getting treatment for basic diseases like malaria, Pneumonia, hypertension, and others because in these difficult times, we have to do everything we can to provide relief to the people of our country.

“We have seen the tremendous work that is being carried out by health professionals collectively, medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses and lab scientists all trying to support our communities in this difficult time.

“Whoever comes for this outreach would be checked, examined, diagnosed and treated for free.

“Today, they have seen more than 1,200 people who have been tested and many of them are having malaria, Pneumonia, skin conditions and have been treated.

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“It’s about access in an emergency situation and here we have internal displaced populations and we have to do everything we can to support our communities in this difficult time,” he said.

The Minister added that through Chigari foundation, all the nine local government areas affected by flood in the state would receive contributions.

He said that the foundation was also targeting to provide direct support to 250 people in each of the LGAs who were directly affected by flood.

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Pate called on all well meaning Nigerians to join hands to help communities go through this difficult period across the country.

In his address, Dr. Yusuf Bappa, Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Bauchi state, explained that the outreach was about assisting people who were ravaged by the flood disaster that happened in this zone.

He said that over 1,000 children, women and men with various degrees of ailment have been treated at the temporary IDP camp, adding that those that could not be treated were referred to Federal Medical Centre, Azare for treatment.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, a 70 year-old Awawu Umaru, who appreciated the state government for providing them the temporary IDP camp, also expressed gratitude to the minister and NMA for giving them the free medical treatment.

The Lagos State Government has increased boarding fees in all secondary schools across the state from N35,000 to N100,000 per term.

A letter to all boarding school principals signed by the Director, Basic Education Services, Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Olufemi Asaolu, and sighted by The PUNCH on Friday, read, “I have the directive of the Honourable Commissioner to inform all Public Boarding House schools in Lagos State that the State Government has approved the review of the Boarding fee payable in all Public Boarding House schools in Lagos State. The newly approved fee is N100,000 Only.”

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The letter titled, ‘Review of boarding fees in all public secondary schools in Lagos State for 2024/2025 session,’ added that no additional fee of any form should be collected by the schools, saying the resumption date was now September 15, 2024.

“I am further directed to inform you that no additional fee of any form should be collected by the schools.
“Kindly note that the resumption date remains 15th September 2024.”

A parent, Mrs Ayo Ogunse confirmed that the last fee was N35,000, saying parents had paid this fee last week before the new fee circular was posted on Friday afternoon.

“We were surprised to receive this new fee of N100,000 after paying N35,000 last week,” she said.

The Federal Government has issued a warning to the Niger Delta and southern states to brace for possible floods.

Also, the government revealed that the recent devastating Maiduguri flood was caused by the overflow of the Ngadda River, not a collapse of the Alau Dam as initially speculated.

During a press briefing, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engineer Joseph Utsev, clarified that the Alau Dam, located in Maiduguri, Borno State, remained intact.

He explained that the flood resulted from massive inflows from the Ngadda River, a major tributary of the River Yedzaram, which overwhelmed the dam’s dyke.

Utsev, alongside the Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo, visited the flood-affected areas to assess the damage and express their sympathies to the government and people of Borno State.

Utsev expressed commitment to a thorough overhaul and upgrade of the Alau Dam. He said it is non-negotiable, and any poor performance by contractors or officials involved will not go unpunished.

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He promised to provide sanitation kits and water treatment facilities to displaced persons as part of the ministry’s immediate intervention.

However, the minister explained that the delay in arrival was due to prior irrigation inspections in the southwest. But he reassured that the Alau Dam would be prioritised.

Cause of Maiduguri flood

He said: “We didn’t actually envisage that the level of the water that comes this year it will be of this magnitude.

“Because of the climate change, the downpour was in excess, and the rivers could not actually contain the water. And more water that was unexpected was being spilled into Alau Dam, and it has spilled over the dyke.

“Alau Dam did not collapse. It was one of the dykes that could not hold excess water coming from the tributaries, so it overflowed the dam.

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“The Federal Government of Nigeria and indeed the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation deeply sympathise with the government and the good people of Borno State on the flood disaster that befell us a few days ago.

“This flood disaster, directly and indirectly affected millions of Nigerians, destroying homes, property, farmlands, roads, critical infrastructure and assets, among others. I identify with you all as we progress to navigate through this difficult time.

“This flood disaster that affected Maiduguri and Jere areas of Borno State was largely due to overflow of water from Alau Dam which is about 10 kilometers from Maiduguri city centre owing to massive inflow from Ngadda river, a major tributary of River Yedzaram.

“The Minister of State, Bello Mohammad Goronyo, and I have visited Maiduguri with heads of agencies and parastatals in my Ministry to express solidarity with the Governor, Borno State and to assess the extent of devastation caused by the flood.

“As I speak now, the team of technical experts from the Ministry, National Water Resources Institute (NWRI) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) including Chad Basin Development Authority are physically on ground to assess the situation in Alau Dam and the extent of the flood disaster and come up with useful findings and recommendations.”

Meanwhile, according to the Minister, reports of similar visits in Bauchi, Sokoto and Kebbi states have been produced and action is being taken.

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Also, he warned that the water people drink may be contaminated, “we should please be mindful of this, so as to avoid further outbreak of waterborne and communicable diseases.”

Looming flood disaster

However, he warned that there is going to be serious flooding in the Niger Delta region and other southern states. Hence, the government and people should activate emergency measures to mitigate the impact.

“As we mourn the losses in Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi and other states affected by flooding, the attention of Nigerians is hereby drawn to the probable flooding on rivers Niger and Benue and some of their tributaries.

“The daily flow on these rivers indicates significant increase in flow levels tending towards red alert.

“This warning means that a large volume of water is moving through our rivers down to the delta region.

“Therefore, we should increase vigilance on all ramifications and step up proactive measures to address any eventual flooding events in the southern part of the country,” he said.