The victims who are mainly from the riverine communities and flood prone areas of the state whose houses, properties and other valuables worth several millions of naira were submerged and damaged, described the state government action as “wickedness and inhuman.”
Victims of flood in Delta state who are trapped and displaced from their homes by the massive flooding have cried out over what they called “abandonment and neglect” by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) led government.
The victims who are mainly from the riverine communities and flood prone areas of the state whose houses, properties and other valuables worth several millions of naira were submerged and damaged, described the state government action as “wickedness and inhuman.”
Over 100 communities as well as over 100,000 persons were rendered homeless while hundreds of hectares of farmland and properties worth millions of naira destroyed across the state following the increasing flooding.
The affected communities include: Ikpide-Irri riverine community, Uzere, Ivrogbo-Irri, Araya, Aviara, Emede, Umeh, all in Isoko South Local Government Area of the state, others are Iyede-Ame, Lagos-Iyede, Onogbokor, Ashaka, Ibrede and Abbi in Ndokwa East council area as well as Eberedeni, Okpe, Ofagbe, Irri, Oyede, Bethel, Ukpudhe, Asaba-Ase, Ase, Kwale, Oko, Beneku, camp 75, Asaba among other communities and still counting.
A lady said to be in her forties from Akarai community and another boy from Otuoku, both in Ndokwa East council area of Delta State, died on Saturday following the flood that ravaged the area and their corpses were swept away to an unknown destination.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, a victim and indigene of Ivrogbo-Irri riverine community, Isoko South council area, who simply identified herself as Ajirioghene, lamented the negligence of the Delta State government to rescue victims and lack of camps to evacuate the victims to.
“This 2022 flood is getting more serious than the one of 2012. Move around the affected communities, you can never find any Delta state government official. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has abandoned us. He is busy going from one state to another on how to garner votes come 2023 general elections.
“Okowa valued his vice presidential ambition than the lives of the flood victims. Even the SSG, Patrick Ukah, the flood committee chairman in the state is just sitting in his office in Asaba, issuing press releases without bothering about the lives of the people and without arrangements for immediate evacuation of victims. Like Okowa; like Ukah."
Lamenting the flood situation and the attitude of the state government towards the victims, a former councillor in Ashaka who preferred to remain anonymous, told SaharaReporters that "The first responsibility of any government is the security and welfare of her citizens, but this governor Ifeanyi Okowa has failed. Okowa is gallivanting round the country for his ambition. This goes to show how wicked he is. Okowa doesn't value or care the people, he's in Uyo campaigning."
Also speaking, another flood victim from Ofagbe community who identified himself as Omoro and one Philip from Iyede-Ame community and Nkem from Kwale condemned what they described as “neglect” on the part of the state government even as they accused Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of spending billions of naira of tax payers’ money on his vice presidential ambition while the people were left to die in the flood.
A visit by SaharaReporters to some of the already submerged communities across the state, confirmed houses, properties and other valuables worth millions of naira destroyed by the flood.
The victims passionately appealed to corporate bodies, spirited individuals and all relevant authorities as well as government of all levels to come to their aid and send relief materials to them.