Bayelsa State Government has urged the federal government to stop paying lip service to the issue of flood mitigation and control in states that would be adversely affected by the menace this year as forecast by the Nigeria Hydrological Agency.
The State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the appeal when a joint delegation from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UnitedStates Agencies for International Development (USAID) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) paid him a courtesy call in Government House, Yenagoa.
Senator Ewhrudjakpoexpressed concern that the federal government and its agencies seem not to be bothered about the sufferings of the people living in flood prone states.
Describing the lackadaisical approach of Federal Government as worrisome, he maintained that the country appears not to have learnt any lessons from the twenty-twelve and twenty-twenty-twodevastating floods but only good at issuing flood alerts.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo said depending on international agencies for foreign aids at all times is not only demeaning but also anti-development, and called on all relevant stakeholders to proffer sustainable homegrown solutions to the problem of flooding, which is fast assuming a perennial dimension.
The State Number Two Man, used the opportunity to inform his visitors, that the state government is currently carrying out massive construction works particularly on roads that were badly damaged by last year’s flood.
He expressed the State Government readiness for effective collaburationin mitigation efforts to avoid a recurrence of the flood experience.
Earlier, the Field Coordination Officer of the International Organization for Migration, Mr TsegayeAsrat, said they were in the state to monitor projects being embarked by their agency towards flood mitigation in the state.
Mr. Asrat, added that the IOM would be working closely with the State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA) to achieve maximum results before the 2023 floods.
The Field Coordination Officer was accompanied on the visit by a NEMA representative, Mr ChidiebereOgundu and officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including Jacqueline Straeme and Adesina Stella.
