•••CHALLENGES HER TO VISIT BAYELSA
••• SAYS NO FG M OFFICIAL HAS VISITED TO ASSESS FLOOD SITUATION
The Bayelsa State Government has said that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq is fast become a part of the flood disaster she was appointed to manage.
The State Government was responding to a startling comment by the minister that Bayelsa was not among the ten most affected states by the 2022 flood in the country.
Farouk had shocked State House Correspondents when she claimed that Jigawa State is the most affected by the flood.
The minister’s statement was seen as a deliberate attempt to downplay the crushing devastation caused by the rampaging flood in Bayelsa State whose capital, Yenagoa, and virtually all the eight local governments are currently submerged by the unprecedented flood.
The raging flood waters destroyed and washed off major roads in and out of the state thereby isolating it from other parts of the Nigeria.
The minister spoke while reacting to a statement attributed to the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Pa EK Clark, that the Humanitarian Affairs Minister was not humane in her approach to the management of the devastating flood.
However, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Ayiba Duba, said that the Minister and indeed the Federal Government have abandoned their responsibilities in the flood management in Bayelsa.
The Government Spokesman who described the minister’s claim as disheartening said that she has shown lack of interest in the management of the flood that has ravaged and held down the State for weeks in spite of Presidential directives.
The commissioner said that the actions of the minister and her initial claims that only four local government areas were affected by the flood seems to suggest to Bayelsans that they are no longer part of Nigeria.
He condemned the minister’s decision to remain in the comfort of her office in her Abuja to determine which State was most flooded.
According to him, since the flood occurred a month ago, no representative of the Federal Government has visited Bayelsa to assess the situation.
The statement with the title ‘Flood: FG abandons its Responsibility in Bayelsa State reads in full, “The attention of the Bayelsa State Government has been drawn to the spurious claim by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq that Bayelsa State is not one of the ten most impacted states by the 2022 flood.
“The Minister’s claim is disheartening but not surprising. The slow response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the flood despite the President’s directive for her to come to the aid of the state is indeed a confirmation of our belief that the Federal Ministry and its agencies have abandoned their responsibility and are not interested in managing the disaster.
“Indeed, the Minister is already turning into part of the disaster she was appointed to manage.
“She had earlier claimed that only four Local Government Areas of the state were impacted by the unprecedented flood.
“She was obviously relying on a bogus data in contradiction of the clear reality that every local government in the state is impacted by the flood in varying degrees.
“The way the minister has treated our state is so unfortunate that our people are beginning to doubt that we are part of Nigeria. She sat comfortably in Abuja to determine the most flooded!!!
“Is it not curious that since the devastation occasioned by the flood occurred a month ago, no representative of the FG has visited our state to assess the situation?
“The Federal Government has not shown the minutest of empathy since this monumental devastation hit our state.
“And we are asking, is Bayelsa State still part of Nigeria? Are we only important when it is time to exploit the resources in our land?
“If the humanitarian minister is sincere, let her tell Nigerians the relief materials brought to the state and who received them.
“The Minister and Indeed the Federal Government are not fair to our people who have undergone trauma of losing loved ones, homes and livelihood.
“In fact, the minister’s bogus data with which she came to the conclusion that Bayelsa was not even one of the ten most impacted contradict basic science, common sense, concern and kindness.
“How can a state up North, Jigawa, be worst impacted when indeed Bayelsa State has the unfortunate responsibility of receiving the flood water that ran through more than 15 states?
“The data used by the Federal ministry to arrive at the conclusion is suspect and erroneous.
“How was it arrived at? By sitting in an office and conjuring figures?
“By the reality on ground, over 300 communities were impacted by the flood and almost a million people were displaced from their homes, many of them losing their livelihood, in Bayelsa State. And no other state in the Federation is so impacted.
“If the Minister is desirous of doing a good job, she should leave her cozy office in Abuja and come to Bayelsa State to ascertain the truth, even as the flood began to recede.”