By; SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri
Yobe State New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) governorship candidate, His Excellency, Malam Garba Umar has commiserated with flood victims across the state, describing the unfortunate incident as devastating and heart-touching.
Expressing his deepest sympathy particularly to the families of those who lost their lives, Malam Garba Umar said, it is disturbing to him to note with concern how some innocent citizens of Yobe lost their lives in a boat mishap, a situation that would have been avoided if the state government had put in place temporary measures for movement.
A statement issued and signed on Tuesday and made available to newsmen by Director General, Press Affairs to His Excellency, Malam Garba Umar, condemned the poor and untimely response and assistance from the state government to the affected victims through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
According to him, the gross negligence on the part of the state government in supervising the activities of its officials, particularly those saddled with the responsibility of alleviating the sufferings of victims of disaster, has further compounded the situation in the state.
The governorship candidate also said, it is surprising that the governor has chosen to prioritise welcoming new party decampees than paying a sympathy and condolence visit to the affected communities and families of Yobeans who lost their dear lives in the boat mishap, saying it is an indication of incompetence and poor leadership with no sense of human empathy.
“From my research, findings and communication with the affected communities, the damage and havoc caused by this disastrous flood is far beyond what is being reported by the state government.
“I cannot begin to imagine what our dear affected communities are going through right now. No amount of words can describe how heavy my heart felt, my heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this disaster and to those that lost their homes and means of livelihood, may the Almighty Allah prevent this from happening again and bring a divine succour to the victims”.
