Burnt IDPs camp building worth more than N45m - Committee

The Presidential Committee on Flood, Relief and Rehabilitation says the Administrative building of the ultra modern Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp gutted by fire in Shendam, Plateau was worth more than N45 million.

Mr John Owoicho, a member of the committee made this known when he led other officials on an assessment of burnt building.

NAN reports that the administration block of the camp which was completed but was yet to be occupied was razed by fire on Feb. 20.

Owoicho who said the committee was devastated by the incident.

He said that the visit was to assess the extent of damage.

“We will wait for the report from the Fire Service and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to decide whether or not to reconstruct the administrative block.

“This is because the value of what has been destroyed is in excess of N45 million and that is a lot of money.

“The money was raised by ordinary Nigerians to assist those that might be displaced by either flood or any other disaster,” he stated.

He advised the Chairman of Shendam Local Government Area and SEMA to immediately put the other completed building (a hostel) to use.

Earlier, Alhaji Alhassan Barde, the immediate past Executive Secretary of SEMA, expressed sadness over the incident which he said was avoidable if the contractor had security men on ground.

Barde appealed to relevant authorities, youths and other stakeholders to accept and protect the project.

He said that there were many IDPs from Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba taking refuge in the state and urged SEMA to accommodate them

Also speaking, Mr Elias Kwaps, Chairman, Shendam Local Government Area appealed to the committee to reconstruct the building.

He assured the committee that the council would secure the property.

Contributing, Laraba Akila, Chief Fire Officer, Shendam Fire Station said that investigation was ongoing to unravel the cause of the fire.