SEMA wants Cross River communities relocated over 2013 flood prediction

The Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Cross River (Mr Vincent Aquah) has called for relocation of some communities in the state.
Aquah, who particularly identified Eja in Obubra Local Government Area and Agwagune in Biase as communities that must be immediately relocated, said that the measure was necessary, ahead of NIMET’s prediction of heavy flooding in flood-prone states in 2013.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Calabar that “these communities will be totally wiped out if the predicted flooding in 2013 occur’’.
He said that if nothing was urgently done to provide buffer in some areas, most communities in Cross River would be permanently dislocated by fresh flooding.
The director-general noted that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s (NIMET) forecast of flooding this year in states, including Cross River, had posed serious concerns to SEMA, adding that the agency might lack the capacity to deal with the imminent disaster.
The SEMA boss recalled that Cross River was one of the states in the country that suffered harsh consequences of the 2012 flood disaster, noting that more than 49,000 people were displaced by the flood.
He said that 212 communities, 1,800 houses and 82,361 farms were destroyed by the flood, adding that 13 lives were lost, 34 persons suffered severe injuries, while 18 markets, 15 churches and 13 schools were also destroyed.
The director general said that Agwagune community lost about 90 per cent of its habitable land to the flood, stressing that “if NIMET’s prediction is anything to go by, Agwagune may be completely wiped out. The people require quick relocation.’’ (NAN)

20 private schools shuts down by Borno government over poor standards

The Borno Government has shut down 20 private schools in the state for failing to meet the minimum standard set by the government.
The state’s Commissioner for Education, Malam Inuwa Kubo, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Sunday.
He said the government took the action after several warnings by the inspectorate unit of the ministry of education for the proprietors to meet up with set standards.
“The State Government closed down the 20 private schools because of poor quality standard.
“We found out that the proprietors of the schools were more inclined to making money, instead of maintaining standards in schools.’’
Kubo said that the schools would, however, be re-opened once the proprietors complied with the government’s regulations on standards, stressing that the government was disturbed over the proliferation of schools without standards.
The commissioner noted that the government had in the last two years overhauled the education sector in its quest to address the long years of decay.
“The state governor set up a high-powered committee on the transformation of the education sector shortly after assuming office in 2011.
“I am happy to say that 95 per cent of the committee’s recommendations have been implemented, leading to numerous successes in the sector.’’
The commissioner said that the government spent about three billion naira on the renovation and reconstruction of dilapidated schools across the state.
“We have renovated schools across the state to provide conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning.
“We have also supplied standard furniture in all the schools to provide minimal comfort to the students and teachers.’’
He noted that the government also spent about N54 million as transport fares for students during holidays, explaining that Gov. Kashim Shettima had directed that fares be given to all students to go back home during holidays.
“We spent about N54 million in this direction, as all students were given transportation money based on the distance of their homes to their schools.’’
He stressed that the gesture had helped to increase school enrolment, as it had taken away the burden of transporting children back home from their parents.
Kubo said that the government had also reviewed upward the N20 million monthly allocation for students feeding to N100 million.
“We have also paid about N288 million as registration fees for our students for the Secondary School Certificate Exams (SSCE) and the National Examination Council (NECO).
“The State Government also gave free JAMB forms to all students who scored five credits and above during last year’s SSCE and NECO,’’ he added. (NAN)