NDOKWA EAST FLOOD UPDATE: Thousands  Displaced , As LG  Solicits Support From NEMA, Humanitarian Ministry, Others

Authorities of  Ndokwa East Local Government  Area ((NELGA) of Delta State has  again raised the alarm over the displacement of about ten thousand people due to the ravishing flood in its environs.

The Local Authority expressed worries over the negligence from both state and federal agencies of the government, saying that many have been left to fend for themselves just to survive the floods, while in many other instances, the community public themselves had to step in to help one another.

In a statement made available to DAILY FOCUS NIGERIA on Friday and e- signed by the Chairman, Juan Amechee Governor, expressed worries on disheartening reports on the present condition of the people, noting that immediate action must be taken to prevent such situation from reoccurring.

Governor lamented that the presence of National Emergency Management Authority , Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management , (NEMA) and the state emergency authority, have not been felt in any form either through succour or palliative measures.

The Chairman decried that the devastation to the lives, homes, properties, and infrastructure caused by the floods has revealed multiple systemic failures, noting that the shortcoming of disaster management must’ve addressed by government to forestall future occurrences.

According to him, the Ashaka – Kwale and Ashaka – Arhade road which was the only remaining motor- able routes have be covered by flood with a significant part of the presumably upland communities now overtaken and submerged in flood.

 

He said:”We will continue to solicit that all Community Leaders, Women, Youths and other stakeholders should do everything possible within their means to sensitize their people, monitor and enforce all possible strategies in their various communities across NELGA to ensure that no life is lost during the flood season.

“The NELGA Management, Staff, Executives and Councilors urgently call for the strengthening and democratization of legal accountability as a long-term solution to the myriad of weaknesses and gaps in our systems of governance, as far as the relevant agencies are concerned.

“As many of us may been aware, flood has taken over all the communities in our LGA and we have experience worse situation over the past two days with visible indication that we will continue to witness the rise in water level across the entire LGA until the water starts to recede.

“As earlier communicated few days ago, the committees set up by the council went round the entire LGA to ascertain the extent of damages, evaluate onsite situation, assess potential risks and establish need assessment for all the communities for our further actions.

“All communities in the LGA were covered in the three days exercise embarked upon by the committee made up of the executive   arm, the legislative arm and political appointees of the council.

He further recalled that:”The LGA secretariat at Aboh, the HQ of the LGA remains temporarily shut down as the Council premises has be submerged in water since few days ago.

“Therefore staff will continue to work from home till further notice. We regret any inconvenience this office closure may cause us while we encourage everyone to call up earlier press release and refer all concerns, enquiries, suggestions and information regarding each ward to the Council Flood Committees members.

“The NELGA Management, Staff, Executives and Councilors extend its deepest sympathy to those who have been affected by the floods that have occurred over the past week.  At the time of writing this press release, tens of thousands have been displaced following the recent floods, which have been described as the worst floods our country has experienced since the almighty 2012 flood disaster.

” There have been numerous reported incidents of people stranded in their flood ridden communities and flood victims being left without any assistance.

While urging people of the communities to embrace safety measures, the chairman added by saying , “With water travel on the increase, we request all persons to consistently  adhere to all water travel safety measures; Avoid overloading; ensure you use life jacket during travel period; Avoid low spots, like ditches, basements, or underpasses; Do not walk through flooded areas; If you have to walk in water, wherever possible, walk where the water is not moving; Do not drive into flooded areas; Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water; Know the weather; Let your people know about any trip you are embarking on, before your journey, during the trip and post arrival. Put Safety First, After God in all you do now and going forward.”

Speaking further he maintained that “NELGA Management, Staff, Executives and Councilors acknowledged the shortcomings in our country’s flood management. We are aware that both Federal and State Government has long been aware of, and ostensibly preparing for, the risks of extreme weather and floods posed by climate change and unsustainable development.

“We are aware that tremendous resources have been allocated for climate change adaptation and disaster management in Nigeria for years but NELGA has not been lucky to benefit from any of these.

“As a Local Government Council, we have fantastic proactive plans on how to manage floods in our LGA with focus on flood mitigation programs, strengthening of disaster risk management and resilience of infrastructure would have been further enhanced; but sadly, our fantastic proactive plans are useless without adequate funding.

“With what the Council is going through at the moment, relying solely on Federal Government allocation which is barely enough to address the humongous wage bills of the LGA staff and Teachers, as well as the none compliance and insensitivity of Oil and Gas Operating organization like SEEPCO who refused to pay relevant statutory tenement and other rates to the Council, the Council is eaten up with self-pity as the plans fades and becomes a 20th century mirage sort after but never attained.

“The above is even made worse because NELGA is often not in the news. Therefore the most orchestrated response measures of NEMA and Delta State SEMA as well as other Government Agencies are not felt in NELGA. Neither does the NGOs give NELGA the needed attention due to our less privileged and peculiar circumstances  which put us at the very lower end of the topography of the South South region of country.

“In our 2022 budget, the Council had highlighted the need to enhance climate-resilience and adaptation measures, and an adaptation Plan was developed  to ensure that climate change adaptation and flood management was mainstreamed into our development plan; specifically mentioned are strategies to minimize flood impacts by incorporating climate change factors into flood risk assessment and protection projects and improve compliance with weather-flood forecasting and early warning system based on future climate conditions.

“We will continue the efforts to strengthen the capacity and mechanism in disaster risk management. The integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction will be given the focus in the annual development plan, our current situation notwithstanding,”he affirmed.