Worried by the rising devastation of the states of the Niger Delta region by flood, the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Hon. Umana Okon Umana, has disclosed plans on how he is collaborating with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other federal government parastatals and states to offer medical and infrastructural assistance to impacted communities in the affected states.
Hon. Umana Okon Umana, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, expressed sympathy for the hundreds of thousands of persons displaced by the raging flood and the families of those who have lost their loved ones.
Hon. Umana said his ministry is vigorously working with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist communities in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and other states by providing relief assistance to displaced persons, with plans to rebuild damaged infrastructures across the region.
The Hon. Minister said he is in touch with President Muhammadu Buhari on the immediate action to be taken once the flood recedes, “but we are working with SEMA and NEMA on the provisions of immediate reliefs materials to people in their various states.”
Since his appointment as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Hon. Umana Okon Umana; working with NEMA, SEMA, and other federal and state government agencies has secured numerous approvals for the distribution of relief materials to thousands of needing families across the region.
They were able to provide relief materials to persons affected by Pipeline Fire Explosion, Flood and Windstorm Disasters in Ukwa East/West Federal Constituency, Abia State. They provided relief materials to flood victims in Ofombongha, Osopong, Obubra urban in Obubra of Calabar, Cross Rivers state, and to many communities across the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
He said, “both the President and I, including the staff of the Niger Delta Ministry wholeheartedly commiserate with the families of those who have lost loved ones due to the flood, and we sympathise with families of those displaced by the flood.”
The Hon. Minister pleaded with the people across the region to assist one another to overcome these challenges in the spirit of brotherly love, and that he and his staff are working round the clock with other government agencies to provide relief materials to all needing persons across the region.