*Bayelsa elders urge Buhari to visit state, help residents
*Relief materials will be judiciously shared, Ortom assures Senator
The Lagos State government yesterday issued a fresh update to all waterfront residents of highbrow Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island as well as coastal areas of Epe and Badagry to be wary of the back flow due to the high tide in Lagos Lagoon.
In a statement, Environment and Water Resources Commissioner Tunji Bello explained that the latest advisory had become necessary due to the high tide of the Lagos Lagoon.
Bello said the high tide of the lagoon had made it difficult for storm run-off from the various channels to discharge effectively into the lagoon.
The commissioner said this might in turn cause stagnation into the streets and major roads until the lagoon recedes to allow for a discharge of the channels.
He described the trending video of the water level under the Third Mainland Bridge almost being filled to the brim as fake news.
Bello said the video only captured the Oworonshoki end of the Third Mainland Bridge, saying this is normal because the area is a deck on pile.
The commissioner cautioned Nigerians, especially those on the social media, to stop sending panicky messages to residents to create unnecessary anxiety.
He advised the residents of the affected areas on Lagos Island and other coastal areas to monitor the incidental rains regularly, ensure situational awareness at all times, refrain from dumping refuse into the drains and clean their tertiary drains regularly.
Bello reiterated the earlier flood advisory issued by the state government to the effect that all those on the banks of Ogun River, especially residents of Ketu, Alapere, Agric, Owode Onirin, Ajegunle, Alagbole, Kara, Isheri, Olowora, Araromi, Otun Orisha community, Agiliti, Maidan, Mile 12, Odo Ogun, Owode Elede, Agboyi I, Agboyi II, and Agboyi III, to remain vigilant at these periods.
He stressed that the state government had embarked on massive drainage clearing and the construction of new channels, besides continuous deployment of the quick response Emergency Flood Abatement Gang to free up manholes and black spots to ensure optimum capacity of the drains to contain run-offs.
Also, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has assured the senator representing Lagos Central, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, that the relief materials she donated to the state will be judiciously distributed to victims of floods.
Ortom spoke yesterday when he hosted Senator Tinubu at the Presidential Lodge in Makurdi, the state capital.
The wife of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate was in the state to sympathise with those displaced by floods.
Ortom expressed appreciation to Senator Tinubu for the visit, saying her visit rekindled hope in the flood victims.
The governor directed the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Emmanuel Shior, to ensure judicious distribution of the materials to only those affected by the floods.
Senator Tinubu, who announced a donation of N10 million to the flood victims, recalled her fond relationship with the people of Benue State.
She said whatever affects the people also affects her.
The Lagos Central senator said her visit was not to campaign but to sympathise with those devastated by the floods, and she expressed optimism that her donation would provide succour to the victims.
Items donated included cartons of Indomie, spaghetti, macaroni, sugar, beverages, rubber cups and disposable plates.
Mrs. Tinubu was received by the governor’s wife, Dr. Eunice Ortom, in company of the wife of APC vice presidential candidate, Hajiya Nana Shettima; wife of the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mrs. Regina Akume; the state’s APC governorship candidate, Hyacinth Alia, and his running mate, Sam Ode, among others.
Also, the Bayelsa State Elders’ Council has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently visit the state to personally assess the damage that floods have done to the lives and property as well as means of livelihoods of the residents.
BSEC’s Chairman and former deputy governor, Rear Admiral Jonah (retd.), made the plea yesterday when the group donated food items, such as bags of rice, garri and other consumables, to the state government at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at Ox-Bow Lake in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Jonah stressed that in line with the National Disaster Management System (NDMS), it was the responsibility of Federal agencies to take the lead role, rather than leave the state to contend with the floods.
The former deputy governor warned that the already appalling situation might worsen into a humanitarian crisis, if the Federal Government failed to act swiftly.
The Anambra State government has announced its plans to embark on a post-flood rehabilitation to cushion the effect of flooding on residents displaced by floods across the state.
Deputy Governor Onyekachukwu Ibezim announced this at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Umuawulu, in Awka South Local Government Area.
He said: “We are planning our post-flood rehabilitation because those victims of flood disaster had means of livelihood and homes taken over and destroyed by water.
“The state government cannot leave them like that, after the flooding. They will need somewhere to go to and something to go back to; or else, they would suffer.”
Expressing satisfaction at the level of support government had enjoyed from kind-hearted individuals and organisations, Ibezim said such gestures had gone a long way in cushioning the effect of the disaster on the victims.
