Floods: Damages, displacements in Bayelsa worse than 2012 - Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has visited the flood ravaged Bayelsa State, south-south Nigeria, where many homes have been submerged and thousands of people rendered homeless.

Mr Obi shared pictures of the visit on his Twitter page on Saturday.

Vanguard newspaper in 2012 reported how nearly all the communities along the river bank such as Sagbama, Adagbabiri, Peretorugbene, Agbere, Ofoni, Ayamasa, Sabagriea, Igbedi, Famgbe, Yenaka, Ogu, Fortorugbene, Agbura, Aguadama-Epetiama, Oporoma, Ndoro, Tombia, Peremabiri, Elemebiri, Asamabiri, Angalabiri, Opokuma, Odi, Kaiama, Biseni, Gbarantoru, Tombia Amassoma and Ekeremor among others in the state were submerged by flood.

Mr Obi, who suspended campaign activities on Thursday to visit states ravaged by flood, said the level of damages and displacements caused by flood in Bayelsa in 2022 far exceeded that of 2012.

He called on the presidential candidates of other political parties to suspend their campaigns and join him to help the flood victims.

“Earlier today, I visited the flood-affected areas of Bayelsa. The level of damages, displacements far exceeds that of 2012,” Mr Obi tweeted.

About a week ago, this newspaper reported how a 16-year-old boy was drowned in the flood in Bayelsa.

Among the worst affected areas in the state are Biseni, Tombia-Ekpetiama, Tombia-Amassoma Road, Akenfa, Akenpai, Igbogene and Swali, all in Yenagoa Local Government Area, as well as Kaiama, Odi, Otuoke, and Ogbia communities.

Others include, Agbere, Odoni, Bulu-Oria, Agoro and Sagbama.

Before the Bayelsa visit, Mr Obi visited flood victims and Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Benue State.

Floods have hit parts of Nigeria in the last two months. Some of the affected states are Kogi, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia, Edo, Delta, Kogi Plateau and parts of Abuja.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said about 2.5 million persons are affected and over 603 persons killed by the flooding in the country.

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