The Niger Delta Development Commission, or NDDC, has begun distributing relief supplies, necessary medications, and medical equipment to towns in the Niger Delta devastated by flooding, starting with Rivers State.
The NDDC Acting Managing Director, Engr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, stated that part of the Commission’s mandate was to intervene when natural disasters occurred while speaking at the handover ceremony at the Rivers State Central Medical Store in Port Harcourt.
He mentioned that the NDDC was given a mandate by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana, to repair the East-West Road’s damaged sections and provide relief supplies for the flood victims.
The NDDC CEO praised President Muhammadu Buhari for acting like a good father and ordering the appropriate federal government agencies to act quickly in the face of the flood’s issues.
He said that the NDDC had subsequently repaired the parts of the East-West Road at Ahoada, Mbiama, and Patani that had been damaged by flooding, making them usable for motor vehicles.
According to Audu-Ohwavborua, the NDDC made the decision to give the Rivers State Flood Management Task Force the necessary relief supplies in order to lessen the suffering of the populace.
He said: “What we are doing today in Rivers State, namely; donation of relief materials, will be replicated in the other Niger Delta states. We are providing food items, essential drugs, medical equipment, including two ambulances and two 100KVA generators, among others.”
He stated that anti-malaria, anti-biotic, anti-fungal, anti-diarrhea, and anti-emetic pharmaceuticals would be provided to the states in the Niger Delta region.
Earlier, Mr. Imoko Orere, the director of the NDDC’s Rivers State Office, stated that as an interventionist organization, the NDDC has a duty to support Niger Delta residents, particularly in the event of a catastrophic natural disaster.
He said that the pain of the internally displaced people, who were exposed to poor hygiene and an increased risk of disease outbreaks, was something that the Commission was concerned about.
Dr. George Nweke, the chairman of the Rivers State Flood Management Task Force, thanked the NDDC for acting to address the problems that the local population was facing as he accepted the delivery of the relief supplies.
He gave his word that the Task Force would distribute relief supplies to the towns fairly.
Dr. George Uzonwanne, the NDDC Director of the Health and Social Services Directorate, acknowledged the difficulties and challenges faced by many Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs, who were exposed to poor hygiene and an elevated risk of disease outbreaks.
He noted that many families were left homeless as a result of the flood, and that this exposed them to a variety of water-borne illnesses, necessitating the NDDC’s provision of essential medications for the populace.
