The governor of Bayelsa, Douye Diri, has lamented the extent of damage done by the flood crisis in many parts of the state.
Governor Diri who went on a tour around affected local government areas of the state on Friday, October 21, to see things for himself noted that even the hometown and residence of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan were terribly affected, Daily Trust reports.
The flood ravaging Bayelsa State and other parts of the country has taken over the Otuoke residence of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa is the hometown of the immediate past president.
Speaking when he visited the community on Friday, Governor Duoye Diri lamented the degree of destruction caused by what he described as an “attack by the natural disaster” on the livelihood of Bayelsans.
He stressed that Otuoke, which is the host community of a Federal University, had been submerged and most of the locals displaced, including Jonathan.
The governor urged the people not to despair, even in the trying times, assuring them that the state government had put in place machinery to provide relief materials and medical assistance to victims of the flood.
He said: “As we have seen in other local government areas in the state, we have come to Ogbia and parts of Southern Ijaw today. I had been to Ayama-Ijaw and Azikoro communities in Yenagoa, which is also badly hit.
“Now I am in Ogbia, precisely at the residence of the former president of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. You can see the degree of destruction here in Otuoke. The water current is as if there is a river here.
“This is what I have been saying. Bayelsa is under attack from natural disasters. The whole premises of our former president and the community is under attack. And this is where you also have the federal university. This situation makes the former president an IDP.
“To our citizens, particularly in Ogbia local government, I came to see things for myself in Otuoke and to bring you hope. I came to also let you know that you are not alone in these trying times that we are all going through in our state.
“We have put in place machinery that is going around the state in terms of relief materials and medicines. The Ministry of Health is fully mobilized for that and I am sure they will be here in no distant time.
“Let me also use this opportunity to empathize with my leader, the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who has joined me as one of the IDPs because I was one of the first victims in my community.”
Diri again solicited the help of well-meaning Bayelsans, corporate organisations and the federal government to enable the state to overcome the present unfortunate situation.
He also visited the former president’s mother, Madam Eunice Jonathan, in the community and assured her that the state government was with her and the people of Otuoke.
REPORTERS AT LARGE earlier reported that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) have said there is a likelihood of more states experiencing floods in the coming days, especially in the North Central, South East and the South Western States.
