As part of its corporate social responsibility and support to its host communities, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) recently donated over 2,900 relief items to some communities displaced by flood in Bayelsa State.

The items included bags of rice, tins of vegetable oil, tin tomatoes, treated mosquito nets, mattresses and bags of beans. Other relief materials are bags of garri, wrappers, and indomie. There were also cartons of toothpaste, sanitary towels, evaporated milk, sacks of sugar among others.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, while presenting the items, explained that the donation was part of the Board’s efforts to impact their immediate environment.

“We have watched with uttermost dismay the devastation the flood has brought to Bayelsa and its environs. The Board being an agency of the Federal government with the headquarters in Bayelsa State is responsible to the community where it operates,” he said.

Wabote empathized with the victims and encouraged them to be resilient despite being thrown out of their homes temporarily by the natural disaster. He further called on other agencies of government and private sector players to support the communities and the internally displaced persons.

The NCDMB helmsman charged the community leaders and the State Emergency Management Authority (SEMA) to ensure judicious distribution of the donated materials to the affected victims, adding that the Board would monitor the exercise. He further advised the government to create and equip disaster centers where residents of the state can be easily relocated whenever such disasters occur.

Responding on behalf of the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ebipatel Apaingolo, appreciated the NCDMB for alleviating the plight of the persons and communities displaced by flood. He maintained that the state government lacked the capacity to cater for all the displaced persons and called on other corporate bodies and well-meaning individuals to emulate the Board’s kind gesture and support the flood victims.

At the Igbogene camp for the internally displaced persons, the Coordinator, Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency, Rtd Col. Roland Yekorogha, thanked the NCDMB Executive Secretary for the support and assured that the items will be properly distributed to the displaced persons in the camp.

Receiving the items at Tombia village, the King of Tombia Ekpetiama, HRM C.A.O Otobotekere, represented by one of his cabinet members, Chief MJP Akanga, called on government and non-governmental organizations to assist in curbing the perennial flooding that ravages their community and recommended channelization and shore protection of the River Nun that is close to the community.

Akanga appreciated NCDMB for being the first government agency to provide relief items to the community and called for more support from other organizations and individuals.

The relief materials were distributed to flood victims in Amasoma Community, Tombia Ekpetiama, Igbogene, Okutukutu Community and Opokuma Clan.

Valuechain checks revealed that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also delivered items to Bayelsa State Government, where the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, was represented by the Director of Search and Rescue, Edward Adedokun.

While handing over the relief materials, he said that the food and essential commodities would be distributed to 1,000 households affected by the flood.

Explaining further, he said that the items are part of 12,000 metric tons of assorted grains approved by the President Mohammadu Buhari from the National Strategic Reserve Stock for distribution to all states of the federation and the FCT.

This followed extensive assessments conducted and reported to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The food items included 1,000 bags of 10kg rice, 1,000 bags of 10kg beans, 1,000 bags of 10kg maize, 75 bags of salt (20kg), 75 kegs of vegetable oil (20 liters), 150 cartons of seasoning cubes (maggi/knorr) and 75 cartons of tin tomato (50 sachet).

Non-food Items include 8,000 pieces of nylon mats, 1,000 pieces of mosquito nets (treated), 600 cartons of bath soap, 2,500 pieces of guinea brocade (5 yards), 1,000 pieces of children’s wear (new), 1,000 pieces of women’s wears (new) and 1,000 pieces of men’s wears (new).

The NEMA Boss said “let me say that the Federal Government through NEMA cannot compensate persons impacted by disasters. We cannot compensate people for the traumatic experience that have brought setback to our people in times of disasters. Yet we have to help people to get back on their feet and restart normal life.

“The relief intervention is a testimony that the federal Government through NEMA is always willing to help the people of Bayelsa State. I want to also use this opportunity to appeal to His Excellency, the Governor of Bayelsa State to set-up and strengthen Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in all the Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State to take disaster risk management to the grassroots in line with global best practices.

“This is with the understanding that every disaster happens in a particular community and in a particular Local Government Area. The first life-saving responders are always from the local community. As we always say; disasters are always local, the lifesaving first responders are always local too.

“I also want to appeal to Your Excellency to set aside a predictable funding to Bayelsa SEMA to enable the Agency intervene timely to save lives and safeguard livelihoods whenever disasters hit.”

In continuation of the distribution of relief materials to flood impacted citizenry in different local government areas of Bayelsa State, NCDMB distributed palliatives to Azikoro town in Yenagoa Local Government Area and communities in Ogbia Local Government Area.

The distribution of the materials formed part of the visit by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to some flooded communities in the state and the Okogbe-Ihuike-Ahoada section of the East-West Road, which was damaged by the disaster.

In an interview with journalists, Sylva, who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, and some top officials of the agency, described the destruction of the East-West Road as “unbelievable.”

He said the Federal Government would ensure that rehabilitation work on the flood-ravaged portions of the road was completed early, adding that the government had already directed the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to carry out repair works on the road.

According to Sylva, the problem of frequent flooding across the country required collective effort to resolve, stressing that all stakeholders should jointly jettison political differences to find a lasting solution to the yearly menace.

“This is unbelievable. The devastation (of the East-West Road) is unbelievable. But of course, as you know we stand with the people. I have come all the way from Abuja with a message from the Federal Executive Council that we have given a directive to the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry to ensure that the repairs on this (East-West) road is completed expeditiously,” Sylva said.

He added that “the Federal Executive Council has already taken steps to ensure that this problem is resolved, at least the devastation that we see here is ameliorated as quickly as possible. But going beyond that, we must find a permanent and lasting solution to this problem and this we can only do as a people together, not minding political differences.”

Addressing the IDPs at the various camps, the Minister said the Federal Government sympathized with them over their plight, saying that their present condition was not their fault but due to the flood situation.

He further said, “the Federal Government identifies with not only the Bayelsa people but the plight of the Niger Delta people. But yesterday, the decision was taken at the Federal Executive Council to ensure that the rehabilitation of the East-West Road was speedily completed.

“But beyond that, I am here to ensure that we empathize with our people directly and we are able to send some palliatives. I have always said that this is a recurrent problem. So, we as Bayelsans must find a solution to this problem, as a country, as Bayelsa, we must find a solution to this problem because we cannot continuously have this problem on a year-on-year basis.”