From Our Assembly Correspondent
Hon. Mohammed Adamu Omadefu, member representing Keana constituency at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, says that a windstorm has destroyed over 1000 houses and injured over 16 people in Keana, Agaza, Aloshi, and environs in Keana LG.
Hon. Omadefu stated this when he paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the scene of the incident in Keana, Agaza, and Aloshi Communities of Keana Local Government Area today.
The lawmaker said that more than one thousand (1000) houses, schools, worship centers, health facilities, among others, were destroyed by the heavy windstorm.
"Sixteen (16) people were also reportedly injured and receiving medical attention at various health facilities," he said.
Hon. Omadefu sympathized with the people of the affected communities and urged them to remain calm as the state government has already mobilized agencies in charge of handling disaster issues to the affected communities.
"To ascertain the level of damages done for necessary action," he added.
Omadefu promised to do all within his capacity to assist the victims of the disaster in order to improve their standard of living.
The lawmaker called on the Federal and State Governments, spirited individuals, the international community, among others, to assist the victims with relief materials and other forms of support to enable them to settle back into their houses.
"We cannot rely on the state government alone. The state government alone cannot do it.
"We are appealing to the international community, Federal Government, and well-to-do individuals to intervene by assisting the victims of the rainstorm," he said.
"In the next few weeks, final year students will begin their final examinations. So getting the schools renovated is very necessary," he added.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of Keana Local Government Area, Hon. Sanusi Abdul Giza, urged the victims of the rainstorm to see it as an act of God.
He said that the windstorm has affected even the electrical installation, thereby denying the people of Agaza, Aloshi, Kadarko, and Giza access to electricity supply.
The council boss appealed to the Federal and State Governments to come to the aid of the victims by bringing succor to the affected communities.
Pastor Samuel Mathew Dashe of St. John Catholic Church, Aloshi, where the windstorm destroyed the church from the roof down to the foundation, appealed for support from the government and individuals for the rebuilding of their church.
"I was inside the church when the wind started blowing. A few seconds after I stepped out, I saw the building collapsing," he stated.
It would be reported that some of the places affected by the rainstorm include residential buildings, the central mosque, and Catholic Church in Aloshi, Government Secondary School in Aloshi, Police Outpost in Aloshi.
Others are Government Secondary School Keana and residential buildings that were seriously damaged.
The first point of the visit by the lawmaker and his team was Aloshi, and they were conducted around the affected houses, worship centers, schools, and health facilities.
