Flooding: Niger Delta Reps Ask Of Minister to Resign or be Sack Over Comments
Lizzy Atime
Niger Delta Caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the immediate resignation or sack of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, for her recent comments on the 2022 flood situation in the country.
Recall that the minister had during the weekly Ministerial briefing held recently in Abuja said that Jigawa State is ranked as the most affected state in the country and that Bayelsa State is not even in the top ten ranking of most affected states.
At a Press briefing on Monday, lawmakers from the region called out the Minister saying that her assertion is wrong and at variance with the statement of the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale who declared Bayelsa “a disaster zone.”
Anchored by Rep. Agbedi Frederick(PDP, Bayelsa), who led the Caucus in condemnation of the Minister’s comment, the Lawmaker described Farouq’s classification as “unfortunate”, adding that “a state like Bayelsa that contributes massively to the economy of the nation is abandoned at its time of need.
He further lamented that the Minister instead of visiting the affected areas to get firsthand information and empathize with the victims is relying on some “armchair statistician from far away Abuja to paint a fake picture to Nigerians.”
Agbedi added that on resumption of plenary, they will move a motion to look into actual utilization of ecological fund.
However, incidentally, the said Fund is already being probed by the House, with the first investigative hearing held on Monday.
“The Minister is wrong. Reports from the Flood Management Committee and traditional rulers indicate that, thousands are wounded and hundreds of our citizens died. Infact even one dead person is enough for our country to show
responsibility and sympathy to her people. We wish to bring to the Minister’s attention, that the entire Niger Delta States of Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa ibom, Edo, Imo and Cross River are highly impacted. It is an undeniable fact that Bayelsa State is not only cut off fromthe rest of the country but 80% of the landmass at peak of the flood was submerged with over 70% of the inhabitants displaced as a result of the flood.
“It suffices to state, that there are glaring evidence that has shown the world where the flood is worst hit in Nigeria, testimonies from highly placed Nigerians who visited the state, of the devastating effect of the flood. It is therefore saddening to see a disaster been turned to the usual dirty politics of some public office holders taking advantage of every situation to subjugate some regions of the country by telling blatant falsehood. We the Niger Delta members of the House of Representatives, strongly and
unequivocally condemn in strong terms, the statement credited to the Honorable
Minister as insensitive, unpatriotic and unnationalistic.
“While we are not denying the fact that other states in the federation are also affected, the comparison and figures given by the Honorable Minister shows a glaring attempt to downplay the harsh reality on ground. We are talking of human beings, fellow Nigerians and not some aliens. The figures are not only an insult to the good people of Bayelsa State but to all the victims of the flood who has gone through the trauma of braving the elements by sleeping outside on dugout canoes, roof tops and flood water floors. We call on the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster, Management and Social Development to honourably resign her appointment as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria failing which Mr.President should relieve her of her appointment immediately.”
Another member of the Caucus, Rep. Awaji Inombek Dagomie Abiante (PDP, Rivers) in his reaction to the Minister’s assertion accused the presidential appointee of gross incompetence in the discharge of her duties.
He said it has become necessary for the President to relieve her of her appointment should she fail to resign in order to forestall further embarrassment to Buhari administration.
He noted with exasperation that a flood disaster which has adversely affected a national asset that generates immense revenue such as the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), forcing it to declare force majeure can be said to less destructive to Nigeria and Nigerians.
Abiante said the Niger Delta topography is a slope that serves as a collection point of water from around the country before discharging same into the ocean and as such faces existential threats of annual flooding.
