From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa Elders’ Council has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently visit the flood-ravaged state to ”personally assess the damage the flood has done to life and livelihood of the state.”
The Chairman of the Elders Council and former deputy-governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (retd), who made this call while presenting relief materials on behalf of the council to the Bayelsa State Government, insisted that in line with the national disaster management system, federal agencies should be at the forefront of rescue efforts in the state.
According to him, the situation whereby the state government is left alone to deal with the “already appalling situation” could snowball into a humanitarian crisis if the federal government failed to act swiftly.
Johan said the council is not comfortable with the attitude of a number of federal agencies who are engaging in bulk passing and recommending that Bayelsans should move to higher grounds when there “are no higher grounds to go to in Bayelsa”
The council advised the federal government to build flood shelters as it is done elsewhere in the world to provide comfortable accommodation each time a flood occurs.
They commended Governor Douye Diri for the “courage and determination” he has demonstrated in the face of the flood disaster.
According to the council, Governor Diri’s commitment to the welfare of flood victims has greatly given comfort and hope to residents of the state.
The Chairman of the Flood Mitigation Task Force and Commissioner for Environment, Hon Iselema Gbaranbiri who received the food items including bags of rice and garri on behalf of the government thanked the Bayelsa Elders Council for their humanitarian gesture and solidarity with the government and people of Bayelsa.
Meanwhile, United Nigeria Airlines has donated bags of rice, cartons of Noodles, and bottled water, among others to the Bayelsa State Government to be distributed to the host communities of the Bayelsa International Airport.
Presenting the donation on behalf of the airlines at the Bayelsa International Airport, the Manager, Flight Operations, Captain Chimara Imediegwu, said the gesture was born out of the Airline’s desire to alleviate the plights of the flood victims.
He commended the Government and people of Bayelsa State for what he described as the never-giving-up spirit and appealed to other well-meaning organizations and individuals to rise up to the occasion by assisting the state government to mitigate the effect of the flood in the state.
Capt. Imediegwu expressed hope for better business relationships with the state government and the people of the state.
Receiving the items on behalf of the state government, Hon Gbaranbiri thanked the airline for the kind gesture noting that the airline by its gesture has proven that it is not just a business concern but a friend to the government and people of the state.