Osinbajo who spoke at the internally displaced people’s
camp, (IDP) at Igbogene on the outskirts of Yenagoa said his visit was to
assess the extent of damage caused by the flood.
He noted that he undertook an overfly on helicopter from
Port Harcourt International airport through communities in Rivers State
affected by the flood and others within Yenagoa metropolis.
The Vice President observed that the exercise has brought
home the suffering the flood has thrown many of the victims.
The Vice President commended the National Emergency
Management Agency, (NEMA) and its state counterpart, (SEMA) for their efforts
in assisting the flood victims.
He pledged the
assistance of the federal government to resettle the victims and provide them
means of livelihood to start life anew as soon as the flood is over.
Osinbajo said his coming with the Director General of NEMA
and the Minister of Environment was to demonstrate the seriousness federal government
attaches to the welfare of the flood victims.
He also assured that as soon as he gets back, the government
would restrategize and get back to the state.
He further said that government was working on how to ensure
that such emergency does not happen in future by embarking on dredging of water
channels and building canals.
He urged the people to avoid dumping of solid wastes into
the river that could block water channels and result to flooding.
He used the occasion to pledge the assistance of government
to ensure that the babies delivered in the IDP camps are “perfectly and well
cared for”.
Also speaking, Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa described the
state as the most impacted in the flooding that affected many states across the
country, saying Bayelsa is situated below sea level.
“You saw personally the extent of the devastation. This is
the state mostly affected whenever there is flooding. This state is below sea
level”, he said.
The Governor said the state government is doing all it could
to care for the displaced people.
According to him, apart from the 13 IDP camps already set
up, additional three would be established to contain the increasing number of
people displaced by the flood.
He expressed the readiness of the state government to
collaborate with the federal government for a long term solution to the problem
of flooding in the state.
He lamented the insufficient quantity of relief materials
supplied by NEMA.
The Vice President and his entourage also visited a nearby
St John’s Catholic Church, Igbogene Camp, where some 528 IDPs are staying.
Figures provided by NEMA indicate that more than 150,000
people have been displaced by the flood in Bayelsa.
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