Saturday night downpour has reportedly wreaked havoc in almost all parts of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, leaving many families homeless.

The heavy rain, which lasted for more than three hours, has put a large section of the state capital in darkness as a result of many electricity poles that fell down.

Mostly affected areas are Okekere, Oju Ekun, Okelele among other areas in the Ilorin West local government area, while many communities in the four local governments in the Kwara Central senatorial district, such as Ilorin East, Ilorin South and Asa, were not left out.

It was gathered that rooftops of many houses in all the affected areas were destroyed, while many victims of the destruction have been rendered homeless, especially in such areas as Gaa Akanbi, Murtala Mohammed way, Ibrahim Taiwo road, Agbabiaka, among other areas.

The victims also lamented damage to their household property, like upholstery, electronic sets and cooking materials.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state has commiserated with families whose dwellings were affected in Saturday night’s heavy rainstorm in different parts of the state.

“The Governor is saddened by the havoc wreaked on various households in Ilorin, the state capital, and indeed elsewhere across the state by the heavy rain storm. He sends his heartfelt commiseration and a message of hope to such families in this trying time,” according to a statement on Sunday morning by his chief press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye. 

 “As part of his proactive measures to mitigate the effect of this natural disaster which had been predicted by the NIMET, the governor had last week visited various Federal Government agencies including the NEMA to seek special relief for Kwara. The state government is again urging the Federal Government to urgently consider Kwara State for special support. 

The governor, for his part, is immediately setting up a special disaster response team to collate data of areas affected and determine how the state government can offer support based on available resources. That response team will be announced shortly.

“The Governor is also aware of the damaged to electric poles during the storm. He has directed relevant agencies to quickly fix the poles as soon as possible to avoid further damage and ensure the restoration of power services,” the statement said.