Bayelsa Flood: APC Chieftain, Nabena Faults Minister Over Comments
- Sadiya Farouq's recent comment that Bayelsa is not among the 10 most affected states in the country reeling under floods has been condemned
- Former deputy national publicity secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, accused the minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management of bias
- Nabena warned the Zamfara-born minister not to bring in religion and ethnicity into issues of natural disaster
FCT, Abuja - Former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has berated the minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, Sadiya Farouq, for saying Bayelsa is not among the 10 most affected states in the country reeling under floods.
Source: Twitter
The minister who appeared at the ministerial media briefing at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, November 3, said:
“Bayelsa is not among the ten most worst hit states, Jigawa is.”
According to the minister, the criteria used to arrive at the conclusion are based on the following indices: the number of deaths recorded and displaced persons per state, number of injuries, partially damaged, houses totally damaged, and farmlands partially and totally damaged.
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But faulting the minister through a statement Friday, November 4, the Bayelsa born APC chieftain said the federal government should be interested on how to quickly prevent reoccurrence of the phenomenon, adding that the flooding is preventable.
The former APC spokesman warned the minister not to bring religion and tribe into the current flood disaster.
His words:
“See official jealousy! The woman is worried that Bayelsa is receiving all the attention. She would have preferred Jigawa state which she has awarded the first position.
“Madam minister should not worry herself because Bayelsa state will not be interested in this kind of competition as to who would come first in a calamity.
“The minister should be more concerned about how the federal government will prevent reoccurrence of the phenomenon. It is preventable and mitigatable, since flood has a known circle.”
While challenging the minister to tell the world if she had ever visited the Niger Delta since the current disaster happened, Nabena said:
“This is a warning for madam minister not to bring in religion and tribe into the flood disaster.
“One will wonder if as a minister for humanitarian affairs you ever visited the Niger Delta region to know the level of this disaster they have been facing after drilling the oil and the cost of spillages everywhere in the region.”
Nigerian states, households battle with massive flood
In recent weeks, floods have taken over major states in Nigeria, displacing homeowners and businesses.
The impact so far has been devastating and many have in recent days been rendered homeless in states like Jigawa, Anambra, Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta states and more.
Farmlands have also been affected by the unfortunate development, which experts say would affect the cost price of produce in the coming months.
Nigeria floods kill 500, displace 1.4 million people
Meanwhile, about 500 people have died in Nigeria's worst floods in a decade and 1.4 million others been displaced from their homes since the start of the rainy season, the federal government said.
Similarly, 45,249 houses were totally damaged while 70,566 hectares of farmlands were completely destroyed.
Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, a spokesperson in the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, made this known in a statement.
Source: Legit.ng
