The Benue State House of Assembly has called on the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to urgently assist victims of a devastating flood that ravaged communities in Buruku and Ushongo Local Government Areas.

The call followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the deputy majority leader, Abraham Jabi, and the deputy chief whip, Simon Gabo, during plenary on Wednesday in Makurdi.

Speaking on behalf of Gabo, the deputy majority leader said that the disaster, which followed days of heavy rainfall, submerged homes and farmlands and destroyed key bridges linking rural settlements.

Mr Jabi disclosed that the Ambila stream in Mbaya council ward of Buruku overflowed its banks on October 13 following a torrential downpour, submerging Ortese Mbaatsua and Ikyaa villages and washing away the local bridge linking them.

“The situation is devastating. Many residents have lost their homes, crops, and means of livelihood.

“The only bridge connecting both communities has been completely cut off.

“A similar incident happened in Ushongo, where floods and gully erosion destroyed bridges on Usaase I, Usaase II, and Mbele Stream, rendering a two-kilometre road that connects several communities nearly impassable.

“The worsening state of rural infrastructure would further isolate the affected villages and hinder access to markets, schools, and healthcare facilities,” Mr Jabi said.

Seconding the motion, Kennedy Angbo (APC/Otukpo-Akpa) called on the state government to liaise with the federal government for ecological assistance, noting that Benue’s resources were lean and competing for many pressing needs.

Mr Angbo added that the scale of the disaster was beyond what the state can handle alone.

“We must act quickly before more lives and livelihoods are lost,” Mr Angbo said.

Ruling on the matter, the Speaker, Alfred Emberga, urged the Bureau of Special Projects and the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Projects (RAAMP) to conduct on-the-spot assessments of the damaged bridges and roads in Buruku and Ushongo local governments and develop immediate plans for reconstruction.

Mr Emberga also urged the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide relief materials and temporary shelter to displaced victims pending a lasting solution.

 (NAN)