![With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses reporters before their working lunch at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://todaynewsafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/19271446964_4559157eff_c.jpg "With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses reporters before their working lunch at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]")
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sympathy for the victims of the Hadejia floods which, according to received reports, destroyed over 100,000 hectares of rice farms in Jigawa State.
Reacting to the tragedy that claimed lives and caused massive destruction to rice farms, President Buhari said that “this level of destruction as a result of a natural disaster is unprecedented and devastating.”
According to the President, “this destruction to farmlands is particularly worrisome because it comes at a time my government is vigorously pursuing efforts to boost local rice production and end importation of the commodity.”He noted that “since agriculture is the largest employer of labour and a major source of income for most ordinary Nigerians, the destruction of rice farms in Jigawa State is bad news not only for the victims, but also for the government policy of achieving food sufficiency and food security in the country.”
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The President extended his sympathies to the victims and assured them that government would not abandon them.
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