*As FG plans evacuation of victims from flood plains

*FG abandoned its responsibility to Bayelsa —State govt

By Sam Oyadonngha & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, yesterday, said Bayelsa State, which is reeling under floods, was not among the 10 most hit states.

She said Jigawa State, which recorded the highest number of death and number one of the states most affected by the disaster.

Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State government, yesterday, accused the Federal Government of failing the state in response to the flood that devastated the state.

The minister also said her ministry was not aware of any $1 million donation or pledge by the United States as humanitarian aid for flood victims in Nigeria.

This is as she said the government has erected 44 temporary shelters in 22 states affected by the flood disaster and even evacuated those living within the areas that are prone to flood, adding that those who refused to heed the early warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMET, were most hit in the devastation.

Speaking at the 56th session of the State House briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja,  Hajiya Farouq said relief materials had also been sent to Bayelsa State.

Reacting to remarks by the Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF,  Edwin Clark, that as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, she was not humane over the treatment of areas hit by floods in Bayelsa and other parts of the South, she said it was Jigawa that is the most affected by the current floods.

Clark had said: “We have a humanitarian minister that is not humane, who was only active to carry out school feeding of school children who were confined to their homes during the Covid-19 lockdown.”

Acknowledging that the entire Bayelsa State was affected, the minister said: “Almost all of Bayelsa, but it will also interest you to know that Bayelsa is not even among the 10 most hit. I think Jigawa is number one and we have taken intervention to Bayelsa and it’s still ongoing. We’re using the Nigerian Air Force to access the inaccessible areas.

“These are natural disasters, we just hope and pray that we don’t see that again. It is a global phenomenon and the government is up and doing in this regard.”

On the allegation that she was not humane, she said it was not true, noting that the flood disaster was a national issue and she was performing her duty to the best of her ability.

According to her, “Merely looking at me, you know that I am humane. Let me use this opportunity to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Lives have been lost, very unfortunate. There were early warnings and hence, early actions by all. The national sub nationals and even individuals that were prone to this disaster.

“We have erected temporary shelters, about 44 of them in 22 states, some people moved to those shelters, while others did not, very unfortunate and I think at this point, I quite agree that there should be enforcement going forward.”

The minister said that there was a donation of N1.5 billion worth of food stuff by the Dangote-led Flood Committee through the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to be distributed to the affected persons.

She denied the allegation that relief materials meant for the downtrodden to ameliorate the effect of the COVID-19 were looted and diverted and later discovered in personal warehouses.

FG plans evacuation of victims from flood plains

On whether the government has any plan to enforce evacuation order from NIMET, she said: “Yes, enforcement is very key and I think going forward that is what should be done so that it shouldn’t be a matter of choice for one to be evacuated. It shouldn’t be, really, because we are talking about human lives here. That will have to be done.”

Not aware of $1m donation from USAID

On the US donation of $1 million support to Nigeria for flood victims, through the US Agency for International Development, USAID, she said she was not aware of any pledge or donation to that effect.

It would be recalled that recently, the US Ambassador,  Mary Beth Leonard, was said to have mentioned the $1 million donation was coming to the state to assist the flood victims.

On the number of states affected by the flood she has visited, she said: “We are in all the states.  I’ve not been to all the states and you mentioned this issue of the Humanitarian Minister not being humane, this is a natural issue that we are facing and I think, with every sense of responsibility, I’m carrying out my duties to the best of my abilities, the best I can in service to this nation and in service to humanity.”

She also affirmed that farmers who lost farmlands as a result of the floods would get compensation from the Federal Government at the end of a comprehensive impact assessment by the National Food Security Council to ensure food security in the country next year.

FG abandoned its responsibility toBayelsa —State govt

Reaction to the statement credited to Farouq, the state Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayiba Duba, said: “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 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 10 most impacted contradicts 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.”