Biya donates to families of Lagdo boatwreck victims

President Biya has made a donation to bereaved families of the people who got drowned in the Alpha water reservoir on their way from Lagdo.

A short ceremony was held on Tuesday in Rey-Bouba located around 300 Km from Garoud before proceeding with the distribution.

The prefect of the Mayo-Rey department, François Amougou including his staff, made the trip to Rey-Bouba to ensure the proper use of funds allocated by President of the Republic to the bereaved. After the ecumenical prayer organized at the esplanade of the ‘Fada’ in Rey-Bouba, the prefect unveiled the contents of the envelope with a budget of over 14 million francs for the victims' families.

After distribution, each family left with a sum of 771 800F. However the distribution and identification of beneficiaries was not an easy task for the Prefect and his team, given certain realities of Mayo-Rey.

“We had to get witnesses to identify the victims' families, some of whom live hundreds of kilometers from Rey-Bouba. François Amougou stated. Also, before the distribution began in Rey- Bouba, a similar ceremony was held in the auditorium of the Garoua Urban Community in the presence of the Prefect of Benue Department.

Mamoudou Haman gave each family of the 16 castaways an amount of 771 425F. The overall amount given to the Benue people was 12,342 835F.

On June 6, two motorized canoes from Lagdo Dami capsized into the Alpha water reservoir after a storm. 38 bodies were recovered by the brigade of the Navy Lagdo after the accident.

Following the wreck , the head of state sent the MINATD with a budget of 30 million F to help families .