Two communities in Bida Local Government Area of Niger State have been devastated by heavy rainfall and erosion, which destroyed eleven houses, a bridge, and a culvert.

Residents have blamed the destruction on Arab Contractors, the firm handling the road construction project from Low-Cost Housing through Federal Polytechnic to the GRA area in Bida.

One of the affected residents, Suleiman Yahaya, accused the construction company of diverting drainage channels, which caused a huge volume of water to flood the communities, destroying properties worth millions of naira.

Another resident, Yakubu Mohammed, said the communities had been grappling with erosion since 2014, even before the road project commenced. He added that the current situation has worsened the plight of the residents.

“Our people are seriously suffering. The rain has rendered many homeless and crippled economic activities in the area,” he lamented.

Responding to the situation, the Niger State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Mohammed Yakubu Kolo, during an on-the-spot assessment visit, assured that the state government had issued directives for the immediate rehabilitation of the Man-Musa Kodogi/Nasarafu Road in Bida.

Kolo, who was accompanied by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Dr. Murtala Bagana, pledged that the government would urgently address the ecological problems affecting the area.

“On behalf of the government, we sympathise with the affected communities, and I assure you that within the next 48 hours, rehabilitation work on the road will commence to prevent a recurrence,” he stated.