Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, ADC federal candidate for Kwando/Ushongo Constituency in Benue State, has postponed her electioneering campaign for one week in solidarity with victims of floods in Nigeria caused by the release of the Lagdo Dam in northern Cameroon.
In a statement titled “ONE WEEK SUSPENSION OF MY CAMPAIGN: FLOODS IN NIGERIA,” the candidate said that the deaths of more than 500 people and the displacement of 1.5 million people were grave enough reasons to help flood victims with relief efforts.
“In view of the widespread scale of the floods in our beloved country resulting in the deaths of more than 500 citizens and in over 1.5 million people being displaced, I am suspending my campaign for the next 7 days in solidarity with flood victims during which time, I will be supporting relief efforts for flood victims across the country,” she said.
As one of the top candidates for the federal seat in Kwande/Ushongo, Ms. Jonathan-Ichaver has asked her fellow politicians to suspend their campaigns and help flood victims in the same way she has.
She also urged the federal departments and agencies involved in disaster aid to increase their efforts.
“I call on fellow political candidates in all parties across the country to do the same and urge our federal and state government ministries, departments and agencies especially the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development, the National Emergency Management Agency and all State Emergency Management Agencies in affected states to ramp up relief efforts and ensure all affected families are taken care of. “
Also, the federal candidate asked for a Commission of Inquiry to be set up to look into the tragedy and suggest ways to stop it from recurring.
“I also call for a Commission of Inquiry to be set up to investigate this disaster and for concrete, urgent preventive measures to be taken to prevent such disasters going forward. And for any concerned persons found by this Commission to have been derelict in their duties of preventing such a disaster to be brought to justice,” her statement read.
Her campaign team and she offered their condolences to families who had lost loved ones or had been moved.
The current flood in Nigeria has devastated 31 states, resulting in over 500 deaths and the displacement of over 1.5 million people.
It is thought to be produced by the release of water from the Lagdo dam in Northern Cameroon, which flows southward into Nigeria’s lower plains.
The lack of a dam or receptacle to receive the supplied water causes severe flooding in most Nigerian areas.
Despite the fact that this has been an ongoing issue since 1982 when the Lagdo dam in Cameroon was built, Nigerian authorities have yet to find a permanent solution.
This year’s flooding has been deemed the most devastating in terms of destruction.
