‘NEMA Data On Bayelsa Flood Disaster A Sham’

By Cami Ezenwa

NEMA On Bayelsa Floods

Data by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on the recent flood incidents across the country, are but a sham, the Bayelsa State government has said.

This is the position of the Bayelsa State government as canvassed by the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the governor, Comrade Tamarakuro Oweifie.

Comrade Oweifie in a press statement to The Eagle, NEMA should as a result correct the erroneous impression as it did, an earlier record of the number of Local Governments Areas (LGAs) affected by the flood.

Comrade Oweifie stated although NEMA initially said only three LGAs of the state were impacted, but it later corrected itself by acknowledging that the flood fully affected all eight LGAs in Bayelsa State.

According to the SSA, the Minister should not rely on number of LGAs affected or use landmass as yard stick to determine extent of impact without taking into cognisance the total number of LGAs in a state.

NEMA On Bayelsa Floods 2

“While Jigawa has more LGAs than Bayelsa with over half of the state impacted by the flood, Bayelsa has ALL LGAs impacted with over 90% of the state submerged and her economic and health main stay totally threatened while these so called top ten states had less percentage affected and have other options and trade troutes to make do with during the floods.

For the records, Bayelsa has recorded more houses submerged to roof tops, FDPs, damages, injuries, losses, and even over a hundred deaths from the flood than any other state in Nigeria due to this year’s flooding”, Comrade Oweifie stated.

The Minister, he added, should mention any other state where  whole sources of economic livelihood were totally cut off as a result of the floods; where mortuaries were over-flowing with corpses and cemetery popping up cadavas littering  the streets, such as was the case with Bayelsa State.

NEMA On Bayelsa Floods 3

Not only were health care system was totally shut down in Bayelsa State, he added, but even access roads were impassable with no foods or potable water for Humanitarian needs accessed?

“The land routes to Bayelsa State have been totally severed with resultant deaths recorded for those who defy the danger to go through the rising waters or patronise make shift articulated trailers or engine tug boats plying that route at cut throat fares to ferry pedestrians to neighbouring states of Delta and Rivers.

“Cost of living in Bayelsa during this period have-skyrocketed to an all-time high with serious scarcity of staple foods threatening an imminent famine in the foreseeable future.

NEMA On Bayelsa Floods 4

“Thousands of homes, houses, farms, poultries, are still unaccounted for as access to these facilities to know the extent and level of damages done have been a daunting task as the floods have hindered data analysts and humanitarian volunteers and workers to access interior areas of the state, and so, one wonders where the Minister got her data from to warrant her positioning Bayelsa State out of the worst impacted state of the 2022 floods”

READ ALSO: Fasoranti Debunks Rumour, Says Adebanjo Still Afenifere’s Leader

According to the SSA, given the enormity of impact of the flood on his state, the time to act now, in terms of rally support was now.