17th October, 2019
By Okafor Ofiebor
As flood ravages many Communities in some local government areas in Rivers State, some Lawmakers have decried the inability of the Rivers State government to set up state Emergency response agency to take care of those facing disasters.
Hon Evans Bipi, the Chief Whip of the Rivers representing Ogu-Bolo State Constituency, who is also an aide to the former First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, decried the inability of state to have its own disaster management agency.
Bipi said several communities in his constituency had been submerged in water.
“The State Government should set our own state emergency agency. It is not all the time we will be calling on National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). What does is cost the state to set up our own. NEMA is Federal Government parastatal. We must have our own emergency Agency.
“Why can’t state government move into the affected communities and provide relief materials to them”, he fumed.
The Lawmaker representing Oyigbo state constituency, Promise Nwankwo, said the magnitude of flood ravaging the affected areas was enormous and called for the establishment of Rivers State Emergency Management Agency.
He appealed to the fellow Lawmakers to help fashion a way to assist flood victims, saying if they continue to wait for NEMA help would not come.
“I am of the opinion that this house should approach the executive to find a way of establishing another version of NEMA.’
Promise Nwankwo however appealed to Oyigbo Local Government Area Chairman to send relief materials to flood Victims in Umundino, Umuebule communities, saying flood had taken over most parts of Akabuka community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
Checks by our correspondent confirmed that floods have submerged many of the communities.
Some of the images of the flood disaster are presented below: