Niger State to receive flood relief

Flood victims in the northwest Nigerian state of Niger will begin receiving relief supplies on Wednesday, the director-general of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency told IRIN. The official, Oluremi Olewu, said on Tuesday that up to 12 heavy trucks stocked with household items such as mosquito nets, blankets, food, medicines and wax prints for clothing would be delivered for over 80,000 people made homeless in October’s floods. Already, she said, the agency had sent aid to some 15 states affected either by flood or communal violence, and flood-ravaged Rivers State, was next in line for federal help. The agency, formed in March, has relied on available national resources to aid victims. Olewu said plans were being made for future use of the military in times of disaster. So far, she said, Nigeria had been able to cope without outside help because the disasters had not occurred all at once, but rather piecemeal.