The Governor of Bayelsa State, Duoye Diri, has commended citizens of the state for their resilience and courage in the face of the flood that ravaged their communities.
He said this was noticed when he traversed the length and breadth of the state to sympathise with the victims.
The Governor who spoke at the 11th annual thanksgiving of the state at the Ecumenical Centre expressed confidence that God Almighty would reward people of the state for their faith.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, the Governor was delighted that the event was held despite the flooding.
He said, “This flood did not affect people along party lines. It should be a clear message to us that we have common challenges and we can only solve them when we are united. Let us not be deceived into fractionalising to suit the political interest of politicians who look for us only when they need our votes.”
In his remarks, former President Goodluck Jonathan joined the call for the Federal Government to assist the state in recovering from the devastation caused by the flood.
“I do not want to overemphasise the disaster that has befallen us. Everybody is an IDP (internally displaced person) in Bayelsa State. I have discussed with the President and Vice President and I believe help will come.
“We empathise with all of you. Coming out today when we are still affected by the flood is significant,” Jonathan said.
In their goodwill messages, Senator Seriake Dickson and his then deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah (retd.), emphasised the need for the federal government to come to the aid of the state to mitigate the effects of the flood.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the party’s governorship candidate in Delta State, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, on Wednesday donated N200m to displaced flood victims in Delta State.
While Tinubu announced a donation of N50 million cash, Omo-Agege gave out “N150 million worth of relief materials for the flood victims.”
Senator Omo-Agege announced the donations on behalf of Tinubu and himself while addressing a mammoth crowd in Effurun, Delta State pointing out that “the aviation strike halted the movement of the APC Presidential candidate.”
He expressed sympathy on behalf of Tinubu and himself saying that the N200 million donation was “a heartfelt contribution” by both of them to cushion the plight of the victims of the flood.
Omo-Agege’s running mate, Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi led the mission to Kwale IDP camp, while the Director-General of the campaign, Elder Godsday Orubebe led another team to Patani IDP camp.
