Bayelsa IDPs accuse govt of hoarding relief items for flood victims

Victims of recent flooding in Bayelsa State who are living in settlements for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have accused the state government of hoarding relief materials donated by organisations and individuals to ameliorate their sufferings.

A letter jointly signed on Saturday by the Chairman and Secretary of a committee for the Coalition of Respective Leaderships of Aggrieved 2022 Flood Promoted IDP Camps in the state, Pastor Leighe Nathaniel and Christian Iwokurai, noted that the palliatives donated were hoarded by government officials as the flood victims were denied access to them.

READ ALSO:Every community in Bayelsa now an IDP camp for flood victims – Gov Diri

The letter addressed to Governor Duoye Diri and the state chapter of Civil Liberty Organisation, decried the uneven distribution of palliatives by the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Committee (BYSEMA), accusing the government of not taking care of IDPs in the two camps set up by it in Igbogene and Oxbow Lake, while other IDP camps in public schools were neglected.

However, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Task Force on Flood Mitigation and Management, Iselema Gbaranbiri, has denied the allegations of hoarding the relief materials and called on the victims to be patient with the government as the second round of palliative distribution was ongoing.

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