Senator-elect urges evacuation of Niger community over lead poison

WORRIED by the devastating effect of the lead poison which has so far killed about 30 people in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator David Umaru has called for the immediate evacuation of villagers resident there to avoid further casualties.

The Senator, who said this while on assessment and sympathy visit to the people of the area as a result of the incidence called on the government to as a matter of urgency relocate the people and declare the area a disaster zone to prevent further lose of life.

He said that there was the need to also take blood samples of the villagers for test to ascertain the level of the poisonous substance in their system in order to have adequate treatment.

According to Umaru, “I was made to believe that about 250 people have been evacuated but from what I have seen anybody has been evacuated. Something needs to be done so that we can check their blood to determine the level of contamination with the lead poison; that is very important,” he said.

Umaru, in whose constituency the disaster occurred immediately made available an undisclosed amount of money to take the affected children to Zamfara State for treatment.

He however, expressed regret that efforts made to save the situation was not enough, “First of all my assessment is that there are still some grounds to cover. A lot of efforts have been done but I think it is not enough. I am made to understand that some people have come from the Federal Ministry of Power. In fact one Sani Gorozo from Abuja, has been here.

“We have made a lot of efforts by ensuring that the victims are evacuated to Zamfara State for immediate treatment. I think there is the need to take blood samples of all the residents here to ascertain the amount of infection”, he said.

He called for the collaboration of local government and traditional rulers in the area in keeping the villagers well informed of the dangers.