Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
A humanitarian organisation, Core Advocate For Genuine Change and Peace Initiative (CAGCPI), has raised the alarm over the plight of flood victims in Bayelsa State.
Director General, CAGCPI, Mr Jacob Obekuma, in a statement on Monday, sought urgent government intervention for the victims before the unimaginable happens, saying the victims appeared to have been neglected.
He blamed their misfortune on government’s alleged negligence of the statutory responsibilities it owes the citizenry.
He said the residents of the state had continued to groan in pains as they recount loss of assets worth billions of naira following the perennial annual flood that hit the state and its environs amid the ENDSARS crisis rocking the country.
Obekuma said the flood, which submerged the upland areas, had caused severe damage to both public and private properties, left many people homeless, with the business community plunged into huge loss.
The ex-militant leader wondered why Bayelsa, one of the states that receive the highest allocation from the federation account, exclusive of the ecological fund, excess crude, had yet to respond positively to the situation.
He said what the leadership of the state requires now is the political will to develop the state’s infrastructure.
He called on Governor Douye Diri to take advantage of the coming dry season to embark on massive infrastructural projects, especially construction of new roads, the proposed flyover at Tombia roundabout, as well as putting up standard drainage system across the state to assuage future flood.
He commended Bayelsans on their peaceful comportment during the ENDSARS protest in the state, and explained that Diri acted right to have emulated other states to set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to look into complaints of police brutality in the state.