Flood Victims Allege Mismanagement Of Relief Materials

Some flood victims at the Erema and Omoku camps in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government area of Rivers State on Thursday accused the camp authorities of mismanagement of the relief materials meant for them.

A correspondent of The Tide who visited the camps, reports that the camps were crowded with an average of 20 persons, including women and children, sleeping in one room.

A cross-section of the victims at the camps expressed displeasure over the mismanagement of relief materials provided by government.

Mr Frank Umesi, one of the victims at Erema camp, told The Tide on Thursday that they were being exploited by the camp authorities.

Umesi alleged that camp authorities were deliberately depriving them of food and other essential materials donated to them by the state government.

“We so much thank government for their assistance in supplying us food and shelter, but we are not satisfied based on what the masses are facing in the hands of those (camp authorities) feeding us.

“They are mismanaging those things (relief materials) that are given to them, even though government supply those things in quantity, they economise them to give government a bad name, economising it for their own selfish interest.

“They share a piece of Indomie (Noodle) to five children; they (children) will eat it raw; they are economising it much; at least, each child should be given one Indomie.”

Umesi called on government to intervene so as to reduce the sufferings of the flood victims in the area.

Another respondent, Mr Ohia Bright, a flood victim at Omoku camp, claimed that the authorities were fabricating fictitious names as flood victims.

“Most of the people whose house were affected by the flood are here creating problem.

“They (camp authorities) are not sharing something (relief materials) equal because there is upper-hand in this camp; that is trading the ingredients (relief materials) that government is bringing for us.”

Reacting to the allegations, Mr Ike Enugu, the Erema camp commandant, who denied the allegation, explained that the relief materials were not sufficient, adding that displaced persons were daily pouring into the camp, a situation which further depleted existing relief materials.

According to him, we need government to supply us with additional relief materials because we presently lack food, clothes and medicine and the children are dying of hunger.