Floods renders 30,000 homeless in Nigeria
Lagos, Sep 16 : Local authorities in Nigeria's southern state of Edo on Saturday said 30,000 people have been displaced by floods in more than 35 communities in eastern and central part of the state.
The disaster had gone beyond the purview of local government council areas, Aremiyau Momoh, chairman of Etsako East, told reporters in Benin city, the state capital, Xinhua news agency reported.
On his part, John Akhigbe, chairman of Etsako Central, called for urgent intervention from both the state and the federal governments.
The duo said camps for the displaced had been placed in strategic locations across the council areas.
Similarly, about 700 houses including large farmlands have been affected by flash floods following heavy rains in parts of oil rich Rivers state.
Martins Ejike, a coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told reporters in Port Harcourt, the state capital, that the floods began since August.
Ejike advised people living in affected areas to relocate to higher ground for temporary shelters in case of the bigger floods.
In neighbouring Anambra state, authority also advised people living in floods-prone areas to immediately relocate to approved Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) centres across the state.
The state said it had established 28 camps across the state for possible flood victims. The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency had listed 12 states as areas likely to be affected by floods.
The agency said on Wednesday that the water level in central Kogi, one of the states, had neared the 2012 level at 10.66m and called for vigilance by residents.
In 2012, NEMA reported that floods killed 363 people and displaced over 2.1 million others in 30 states.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
