The Delta State government has insisted that it would not set up Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps for victims of flood this year and has advised against residents making issues out of the government’s decision.
Charles Aniagwu, the state Commissioner for Information, made this known to journalists during a press briefing held at the Ministry of Information in Asaba on Monday.
“We will not set up camps because of COVID-19. We will not set up camps because majority of people in camps are not even those who are really affected by the flood,” Aniagwu said in response to pleas by journalists.
“We will not set up camps because the original flooding communities have learnt how to cope with the challenges associated with the flood,” he said.
The pleas were as a result of four residents of the state that lost their lives last week in Oko Community, Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state while trying to escape from their place to avoid being submerged by the ravaging flood caused by the overflow of River Niger.
They were reportedly fleeing from a trapped settlement to higher grounds when their boat suddenly capsized leaving the captain of the boat the only survivor. They were among the persons that couldn’t relocate in time when others were relocating.
Aniagwu at the briefing told the journalists that government had carried out investigations and realized that a number of persons who don’t even have any business with the communities were the ones that come to the camps.
“They just want to eat, collect whatever stipends the government would make available and yet they are still in those communities,” Aniagwu said.
“In the last few years, the government had not experienced above 3,000 persons in the camps, both children and adults. Meanwhile, in the communities alone, you have more than that number,” he said.
He urged residents to learn to take certain personal responsibilities and not to leave everything for the government.
“Before year 2012, were we not having flooded communities and were individuals not taking certain personal responsibilities?” he asked.
Even as he sympathized with the families of those who lost their lives to the flood, Aniagwu advised, “If you’re staying in your house, the flood does not just come in one minute. The water level starts rising little by little. As it is rising, we expect that individuals should know that at that moment, they need to evacuate because the individuals are the ones living around the flood and not government.”
Recall that as yearly flood occasioned by the overflow of River Niger ravaged riverine communities as well as those at the banks of the river, the state government had always intervened by building camps for the flood victims, where their safety was assured.
The government also ensured that food items and necessary facilities like conveniences and health facilities were provided in the camps.
Even before the flood, the state government would warn those who live in flood prone areas to relocate to higher grounds until the flood receded.
The state government, even before the rising of waters this year, also warned the people to relocate following the warnings and directives issued by the National Meteorological Agency.
While most people acted fast and relocated for safety, there were always others that waited until the flood submerged their areas before they could run for safety. Often, that resulted in loss of lives to the flood.
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