President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to lead a Federal Government delegation to Bauchi State, due to a windstorm that damaged an estimated 1505 houses.
Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, June 19, 2019 said the delegation was to undertake an assessment of the extent of damage occasioned by the natural disaster.
According to Shehu, the delegation includes the Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja.
He said that already NEMA had started mobilising relief items from its warehouses located in Damaturu and Yola, for onward distribution to those displaced by the windstorm.
“The aid materials are expected to reach Bauchi today, Tuesday evening, while assessment is being conducted on the fire incident in Azare,’’ he added.
It would be recalled that President Buhari had on Monday extended his sympathy to the victims and families of the windstorm and the fire incidents.
The President said that the “nation stands in solidarity with their fellow countrymen in this difficult time, as they face the devastation with courage and fortitude.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that eight persons have so far been confirmed dead, while 120 are reported to have sustained various degrees of injuries.
Azare, another major town was struck by a major inferno that razed down the market in the town few days after.
By Ismaila Chafe
