Nationwide Flood Disaster Is Beyond FG, States –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said the management of the flood ravaging parts of the country and the rehabilitation of the victims nationwide is beyond what the Federal Government and the affected states can handle.

The President said this on Friday at the Fr. Joseph Memorial High School in Aguleri, Anambra State, where about 7,000 victims of the floods in the state and Kogi State are sheltered. He noted that some international agencies had already indicated their intention to provide support for the victims till the floods subside. Jonathan promised that everything possible would be done to ensure that all the victims of the flood were given the necessary assistance to get back to their normal lives. “The Federal Government will work with the state government and other organisations to resettle the victims,” he said. Describing the floods as the worst in the history of Nigeria, the President said the disaster had taught the government and the people a lesson. He said that apart from constructing major embankments on the River Benue to keep off flood water, the government would expedite action on the Kasambilla Dam, due to be completed in 2014, in order to absorb excess water that would be released into the river in the future. The Governor said that Anambra and neighbouring Kogi and Enugu states had temporarily suspended their agitation for the oil wells recently inaugurated by Jonathan because the wells and the oil producing facilities in Aguleri are submerged. “We are not quarrelling about the oil well because it is under water. We are waiting for the water to recede before resuming our quarrel,” Obi said, adding that victims of the floods from Kogi State near the oil wells were being accommodated in Anambra. Obi said the flooding was so devastating in Anambra State that 21 relief camps were set up to accommodate those affected in Anambra and Kogi states. The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, said the people would continue to work together to ensure that the victims were fully rehabilitated after the floods had subsided. The Anglican Bishop of Mbamili Diocese, Rt Rev. Henry Okeke, urged the FG and international organisations to intervene in the rebuilding process as most of the flood victims had been rendered homeless. Also, the Anglican Bishop of Ogbaru, Dr. Samuel Ezeofor, said most communities in Ogbaru had been totally cut off and called for concerted efforts to rehabilitate the victims. The traditional ruler of Ifite-Anam, Igwe Sylvester Nnose, urged the President to rehabilitate the people with grants and loans to enable them find their feet economically.