“In his speech, while addressing the victims, the Governor stated that the Federal Government has not sent a kobo, nor any relief materials to the State. The Governor of Rivers State, Ezenwon Nyesom Wike, also made similar statement a few days ago, when he made some donation to the flood victims in Rivers State.”
He stated that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, whose mandate is to “ensure strategic disaster mitigation, preparedness and response,” has not been to the Niger Delta and has not even sent any relief material to them.
“But the Ministry on Saturday donated food items to vulnerable and displaced persons as a result of banditry in Sokoto State.
“While this is quite commendable, the same gesture should, please, urgently and speedily be extended to the States of the Niger Delta, and other places, which are being ravaged by flood. In this case, it is not only food stuff that is needed, but water, medical and other essentials are urgently needed. Because the Ministry’s mandate also includes ‘implementation of fair, focused, social inclusion and protection programmes in Nigeria.’
“In addition, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), established to handle disaster management, has not also visited the flood victims in the States of the Niger Delta,” the elder statesman said.
He, however, noted that it was commendable that the director general of NEMA on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, speaking at an event to mark 2022 International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction, stated that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved 12,000 metric tons of grains for victims of flood across the country.
“Have these materials been distributed, if so, where have they been distributed to? Who received them? Or are the Governors of the Niger Delta States raising false alarm? Because, it is money gotten from the region, that is used to purchase these relief materials. I hope, tomorrow, the Ministry and NEMA will not say they spent billions of naira in providing relief materials for flood victims, which nobody saw or received.
“One would have even expected that 10 (ten) years after the last disaster flood that ravaged the country in 2012, a responsible government, which swore to an oath, to see to the welfare of the people, would by now, have taken steps to alleviate the sufferings, by building the Lagdo Dam in Benue State, instead of blaming Cameroonian Government.
Credit: Leadership