The Rivers State Flood Prevention and Control Committee has visited Abua Odual Local Government Area in continuation of its efforts to mitigate the negative impact of floods on the people of area.
Speaking to a cross-section of chiefs, elders, women, youths, CDC members and internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the council secretariat in Central Abua on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Rivers State Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Nma Odu, who is also chairman of the state’s Flood Prevention and Management Committee, commended the council chairman, Hon. Vincent Reuben Obu, for taking the necessary steps to ensure that the internally displaced persons were not left destitute.
According to a release by her Head of Press, Owupele Benebo, the deputy governor who was represented by the Head of the Rivers State Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke said they were at Abua Odual on the directive of Governor Siminalayi Fubara who took the initiative of setting up the Flood Prevention and Management Committee, following the prediction that 18 local government areas of the state were prone to flooding.
The deputy governor said they were in Abua to identify with the people who have left their homes and are now living in IDP camps to give them a sense of belonging by bringing palliatives in the form of food items, medical consumables, and other relief materials.
Prof. Odu assured the people that it was not a one-off thing, noting that the committee would come from time to time to check on them with a view of intervening where necessary while urging them to live in peace at the camps and carry on their activities with decorum.
Welcoming the committee to Abua, the chairman of Abua Odual Local Government Area, Hon. Vincent Reuben Obu, expressed gratitude to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his milk of human kindness in providing palliatives to assuage the suffering of the people.
According to him, they have set up well-furnished IDP camps in his LGA, one in Odual and three in Abua, adding that vehicles and speed boats have been arranged for the quick evacuation of displaced persons to the IDP camps. He said that he visited Odual with his team and discovered that farmlands in the area were all submerged.
Also speaking some of the person affected by the flood in Abua expressed gratitude to the State Government for coming to their aid at this difficult time.