…Visits IDPs Camps for Assessment
The Deputy President of Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has expressed deep concern over the plight of Internally Displaced Persons who are victims of the ravaging floods in Delta State, saying he will do everything possible to assist them with relief materials.
Senator Omo-Agege who made the promise at the weekend when he visited Ogbeafor IDP camp in Asaba, expressed satisfaction with the level of orderliness of the IDPs and the officials of the Delta State Emergency Relief Agency SEMA, for coordinating the camp.
The Deputy Senate President who was represented by Princess Modupe Ozolus, his Senior Special Assistant on Non-governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations, said she was in the camp to see what is going on regarding the welfare of the internally displaced persons.
“I know there are many challenges at the camps because when you have people from different communities staying together in one camp there will be challenges. I need to know the number of people here and their living conditions so that i can properly brief the DSP.
“This fact-finding visit is to enable us bring stakeholders together for adequate support for the IDPs. Senator Omo-Agege cares much about the plight of the IDPs and he will do everything possible to assist you here in camp and to enable you resettle when the floods recede.”
The Ogbeafor Camp Commandant, Mr. Okpor Daniel said it was a good thing to receive the team from the Deputy Senate President, saying there are six communities totalling 1200 IDPs in the camp.
According to him; “The state government provides all the logistics in the camp and they cannot do it alone hence the needs for assistance from well meaning individual, corporate bodies, NGOs, civil societies, religious bodies.
“We need food items, clothes, drugs, cooking utensils, toiletries, provisions, mattresses and everything that human being needs to live.”
He said adequate attention were being paid to the IDPs in terms of the education of the children, as they run normal academic calendars like their counterparts in various schools across the state.
Two IDPs, Mr. Precious Ogboogu Ikedi from Oko Odifu and Miss Favour Luke from Power line communities respectively, said they were comfortable at the camp even as they anticipated their quick return to their communities.
While commending the state government for their assistance, Ogboogu expressed happiness on the interest of the Deputy President of Senate in ameliorating their plights.
He equally appealed to spirited individuals, corporate bodies, agencies of government, NGOs, CSO, churches to come to their aid, saying after the camp life, they will need assistance to enable them return to their various communities to start up life again.
Also in an interactive session with the DSP team, the Director General of the State Emergency Relief Agency SEMA, Mr. Karo Ovemeso said the agency has opened 12 IDP camps in the state, adding, that there are four camps already in Asaba with 4000 IDPs in the camps even as he said that the number of IDPs keeps increasing on daily basis.
He explained that each of the four camps in Asaba eat five bags of rice at a meal even as he appealed for assistance from various stakeholders.
He however called on the Federal Government to build more dams in the country to be able to evacuate the volume of floods being experienced annually.
