“We will rebuild. We will restore the vibrancy for which Mokwa is known.’’

This was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s message of hope to the people of Mokwa, Niger State, who lost over 207 of their loved ones and hundreds of houses swept away by floods last week.

To walk the talk, the President announced N2 billion for the reconstruction of the affected communities and directed that 20 trucks loaded with grains be dispatched to the ‘’actual victims’’ of the disaster.

He also ordered Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal to relocate to the state to ensure immediate intervention under the ACReSAL (Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes) drainage project in Mokwa town.

ACReSAL is a World Bank-financed project designed to tackle the pressing issues of land degradation and climate change in 19 states of Northern Nigeria.

The distribution of the food items to the victims is to be done in collaboration with the Village Head (Ndalile of Mokwa), Mohammed Shaba.

The state government, which on Tuesday put the death toll at 208 with 84 missing, said yesterday that 13,354 people were impacted by the flood.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Tinubu, was on arrival in Mokwa received by Deputy Governor Yakubu Garba; some senior state officials, the Ndalile of Mokwa and the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar.