Kogi government orders emergency evacuation

The Kogi state government has ordered the immediate evacuation around Nataco Junction axis of the Okene/Lokoja/Abuja Expressway in Lokoja after flash floods occurred there on Thursday, September 7, 2017.

In a press release signed by Governor Yahaya Bello's Chief Press Secretary, Petra Akinti Onyegbule, the evacuation is part of efforts by the state's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to make sure that residents are well sensitised on how to respond to a potential flood crisis.

The state's Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Honourable Rosemary Osikoya said the flood alert sensitisation campaign began three months ago to ensure the protection of lives and properties of the citizens of the state.

She remarked that despite the recent flood incidents in areas of the state including Lokoja, Igalamela, and Yagba East, no lives have been lost.

According to the statement, the immediate evacuation is a measure to forestall further loss of valuables and, possibly, lives in the state.

Onyegbule also urged for understanding from travellers who use the road to tread carefully when using it by cooperating with officials directing traffic.

He also announced that the state government has set up relief camps in the affected areas for temporarily displaced people to use.

ALSO READ: NEMA responds to imminent flood emergency in Kogi

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) revealed on Thursday that it had deployed an emergency team to two local government areas in the state to respond to a distress call about an imminent flood.

The affected areas of the state indicated by the agency are communities in Sarkin Noma, Ganaja in Lokoja LGA, and IgalamelaLGA.

The agency's spokesperson, Sani Datti, warned people living in communities in the affected areas to relocate to higher grounds for safety.