Egi People’s Assembly laments flooding in communities

• Says devastation now worse than Ogoni pollution
• Seeks environmental impact assessment, support for Egiland
• PENGASSAN urges FG to provide medical support for flood victims in Rivers
• 90 days too long for flood prevention, mitigation plan, expert warns Buhari
• NEDC distributes relief materials to flood victims, IDPs in Bauchi

The Egi People’s Assembly (EPA) has raised the alarm that the effect of flood on 16 communities in Egiland in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Council of Rivers State is now worse than the damages caused by oil spills in polluted Ogoniland.

It also lamented that the wastes from the operational sites of the oil firms had circulated homes, posing serious environmental and health challenges.

President-General of EPA, Ugochukwu Orikoha, who spoke while conducting newsmen round the flooded communities, yesterday, said: “As we speak, wastes from installation sites have circulated our homes, If you drink water from the boreholes here, you are just poisoning yourself. The situation requires serious environmental impact assessment and proper remediation.”

SIMILARLY, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged the Federal Government and its interventionist agencies to provide palliatives and medical support for victims of flooding in communities that played host to facilities in Rivers State.

The union also demanded that workers at the various facilities in such areas should be assisted and provided with the necessary Health and Safety Equipment (HSE) standard to enable them go about their activities without any hitch.

The call was made in a statement signed by the union’s Chairman of Port Harcourt zone, Peter Chukwudi Onita, after an assessment visit to some affected areas.

However, Chairman of Rivers State Taskforce on Flood Management, Dr. George Nwaeke, has reassured that the state government is working round the clock to ensure zero casualties throughout the flooding period. He also vowed to adopt every measure possible in modern times to minimise the hardship of flood victims.

MEANWHILE, the founder, Global Initiative for Nigeria Development and National Coordinator of Courageous Nigerian Livelihood Programme, Michael Ale, has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for giving a 90-day directive to ministers to develop an action plan to mitigate flooding in the country.

Ale, who is a geo-scientist and water management expert, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday.

ALSO, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has said that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) is one of the best legacies of the Buhari-led administration.

Mohammed stated this when management of the Commission donated relief materials and food items to victims of flood and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), yesterday, in Bauchi.