Flood allegedly washes away N25m worth of fruits in Kebbi as Ibeju-Lekki residents lose valuables

Kebbi chapter of Nigerian Fruit Sellers Association, says its members have lost N25 million worth of fruits due to recurring flood at its main market in Birnin Kebbi.

The association’s Chairman, Alhaji Aminu Abubakar, in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday blamed absence of proper drainage for recurring flooding of the market.

‘‘We have nowhere else to go, it’s the only market we have, we just watch in agony as flood destroy our fruits and the loss has reached as much as N25 million.

‘‘You can see water all over the market yourself as if human beings are not living in the market,’’ he said.

Abubakar appealed to the state government to re-build the market to make it safer and conducive for business, and earn more in revenue generation.

The chairman also urged the state government to provide support to members of the association to cushion their losses.

‘‘We are appealing to the government to support us with soft loans to boost our business.

‘‘Farmers, traders, and different types of business associations have been getting support from the state government, but we were never considered to benefit from such support,’’ he stressed.

According to Abubakar, the association has over 20,000 members in all the 21 Local Government Areas in the state.

‘‘We also employ over 3,000 youths who are helping to transport our goods and sell in major towns across the state.

‘‘Imagine the burden of the numbers of unemployed youths we can help the government to reduce if we have support and empowerment,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, some residents of Ibeju Lekki in Lagos on Saturday lamented their loss of valuables worth millions of Naira to flood caused by persistent rainfall, coupled with poor drainage facilities in the community.

Some of the residents said the early morning downpour left several roads and homes in the area flooded.

Mr Luqman Balogun, a member of the Community Development Association, in Ibeju-Lekki, said that it had been a long time since the community witnessed such torrential rain.

“We can neither go to the office nor stay at home comfortably now as many of our valuables are already destroyed by a flood.

“I never believed we could be sacked by flood because we live in a predominantly sandy environment, due to our proximity to the ocean.

“What I have observed now is that there are no working drainage channels in Ibeju-Lekki, as we have in other parts of Lagos State,’’ he said.

Balogun mentioned some of the areas affected by the flood included Kajola, Majek first-gate area, Lakowe, Eleko, Oribanwa and Awoyaya, among several others.

According to him, the flooding has affected commercial businesses in the community, including the hospitality sector.

“I am a hotel operator. We hotel owners are also complaining of low patronage due to bad roads, epileptic power supply, the absence of a functional drainage system and other issues.

“Despite all the challenges, government is still giving us estimated taxes and ridiculous bills.

“We have not been enjoying any infrastructure in this community, yet we pay our taxes and there is virtually no serious encouragement from government,’’ he said.

Also, Mr Seyi Bakare, a resident, decried the poor condition of the Ibeju/Lekki expressway.

He noted that the major road in the area had started to develop several portholes, thereby causing some traffic bottlenecks on the expressway

Bakare added that the journey from the Ajah axis to Epe/Ibeju -Lekki which ought to take about 45 minutes now lasts about an hour-and-a-half.

Another resident, Mr Lanre Solution, appealed to the Lagos State government to fix the Lekki/Epe Expressway, which he said, was the major road linking Ibeju/Lekki to Epe.

He said that adequate maintenance of the road would enhance business activities in the area.

Mrs Bola Fadahunsi, another resident, lamented that the bad roads and flooding were causing a lot of damage to the vehicles of residents, costing them more money to maintain