Former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has expressed surprise that the federal government has yet to respond three weeks after a massive flooding hit Bayelsa State. Obi said flying into the state in a chopper gave him a better aerial view of the situation and that the state needs urgent help. Obi spoke on Saturday in Yenagoa, the state capital, when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Douye Diri at the Government House before they both visited internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Oxbow Lake Pavilion camp in Yenagoa.
While calling on the federal government to declare an emergency over the flooding in parts of Nigeria with Bayelsa as a case in point, he remarked that as a state that is strategic to the economy of Nigeria, it deserved more from the centre. He called on the international community, donor agencies and public-spirited individuals and organizations to assist the government navigate through this difficult moment. Obi lauded Diri’s handling of the situation so far and urged him not to give up while promising to stand with the people in their trying moments.
Responding, Governor Douye Diri expressed appreciation to Obi for his show of love to people of the state. He lamented the impact of the flood, which he said had claimed lives, property and destroying the economy of the state and acknowledged the concern showed by President Muhammadu Buhari by directing federal rescue and disaster management agencies to assist the state. Diri assured people of the state that his administration would continue to stand with them and spare no effort in providing relief to victims of the flood.At the Oxbow Lake IDP camp, Obi pledged an undisclosed amount.