Bayelsa State Government is committed to providing comfort for citizens who are at various Internally Displace Persons (IDP)Camps established to accommodate victims of the unprecedented flood which has ravaged 300 communities and rendered almost one million individuals including; children, women and the aged, homeless.
The State Commissioner for Environment and Chairman Bayelsa State Flood Mitigation and Management Task Force, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri gave the assurance while speaking with journalists at the Oxbow Lake IDP Camp in Yenagoa.
Mr. Gbaranbiri disclosed that more than four thousand flood displaced individuals are being camped at the Oxbow Lake camp alone adding that: “Whatever we are doing here, is being replicated at the Igbogene camp and other camps.”
He added: “Medical services have been provided. We are providing food and we have our sanitation unit that is cleaning the camp daily. We ensure that there is lighting.
“The government of Senator Douye Diri is passionate about the people and we have an obligation to stand for them in time of crises and challenges.”
The Environment Commissioner added that relief materials including food items have also been distributed while the second phase of distribution will soon take place, while mobile clinics are going around the state to attend to medical emergencies.
He called on relevant Federal agencies to hasten the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari directive and come to the aid of the victims.
“We need Federal Government urgent intervention” he added.
Also speaking, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Hon. Ayibaina Duba also called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps at preventing future flood by building dams and dredging the River Niger in order to contain water from the Cameroon dam whenever it is released.
Hon. Duba appealed to residents of the flood ravaged areas to desist from building on water channels, stating that disregard for natural water channels contributed to the current flood situation in the State.
Duba said: “We call on the Federal Government to do something about this flooding. They said it was the dam in Cameroon that is causing it. Let them do something to contain the water when Cameroon releases the water. If they are to build reservoirs, let them build, because we have come to realize that all the water empties to us.
He also called on the populace to be conscious of the environment and ensure proper disposal of refuse, saying that most drainage systems in the state were discovered to have been blocked by refuse including discarded plastic bottles and polytene bags.
