- Vows To Continue With Emergency Intervention Despite Flooded Kogi Road
The federal government on Friday announced the delivery of the second batch of food and other items to victims of the flood disaster in Bayelsa State.
The government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development also disclosed that airlifting of relief materials by the Nigerian Air force is ongoing.
The latest update by the Ministry showed that the operation undertaken by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with the Air force began on Tuesday 25th October 2022.
A statement by the Ministry explained that NEMA, through the South-South zonal office, delivered assorted relief materials comprising food and non-food items for immediate distribution in the Otegwe and Ibelebiri communities of Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa.
It also said that “Following heavy flooding of the East-West Road linking to the state, the Nigerian Airforce intervened in airlifting operations of relief items from Benin Airport to Port Harcourt International Airport and the subsequent use of helicopters to move the items to the Helipad in Yenagoa, the state capital.”
It equally indicated that the government is committed to defying all odds such as heavily flooded routes along Kogi State and other locations on the way to Bayelsa State, to continue delivery of the third consignment of relief items to the South-south state.
According to the statement, NEMA has further been mandated to collaborate with the State Emergency Management Agency, the Nigerian Navy in Bayelsa State, NNS Pathfinder in Rivers State, Nigerian Red Cross and Local Volunteers to carry out an in-depth assessment of the damage by the flood, for further assistance by the federal government.
The emergency agency, the statement added, has in less than a month procured more relief items for a third intervention to be delivered to the state.
The items include 1,000 pieces of mosquito nets, 600 cartons of bath soaps, 2,500 pieces of guinea brocades and 1,000 pieces of children’s wear.
Others are 1,000 pieces of women’s wear, 1,000 pieces of men’s wear, 8,000 pieces of nylon mats, among others.
The food items procured by the agency are 1,000 bags (10kg) of rice, 1,000 bags (10kg) of beans, 1,000 bags (10kg) of maize and 75 bags (20kg) of iodized salt, and more.
