A former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mike Okiro, has called for medical and agricultural support for victims of the flood disaster in Oguta and Egbema local government areas of Imo State.
Okiro, who is the National Leader, Socio-economic Development Initiative, made the appeall when he visited flood-affected areas of the state.
Some of the areas visited includes Obiakpu, Ukwuagba, Ojiji, Oguta, Opuoma Abaezi, Egbema and Etekwuru, among several communities whose mainstay of their economy are fishing and farming.
“The situation is actually pitiable and calamitous.
“We have seen the damages done by the flood and I will call it both national and natural disaster,” he submitted.
He called for a headcount of students in the affected areas in a bid to assist them return to school after eight months of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
According to him, “the Imo and Rivers State Governments have given the people palliatives, but I think it is not enough because after the flood the people must go back to their farms.
“Apart from giving palliatives, seedlings and cassava stems, the roads should be build.
“The dredging of River Niger, Orashi River and some rivers around the areas are essential to enable easy flow of water into the Atlantic Ocean.
“If the dredging had taken place, we would not have seen this type of flood we saw today” .While expressing concern over a possible outbreak of malaria, cholera and other health implications, he further appealed for the provision of portable water and medicaments for the flood victims.
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