Niger Delta
Flood Sacks A’Ibom Monarch, Villagers
Ikot Obio Atai community in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has been deserted, the throne of monarch ravaged and the King sent on exile.
The community is not facing any war nor any other social upheaval like banditry but natural terror: flood, which has sent nearly half of the community packing.
Armed with no weapon or idea on how to combat the vicious flood, the village head, Chief Mkpong Okon Mkpong, fled from his palace at No. 85 Urua Ekpa Road to Udo Usanga Street in Uyo LGA, to rule over his community.
The flood, which has taken more than three kilometres of the village, equally affected many adjoining streets in the area, including Afaha Oku, Imo, Udo and Usanga, among others.
More than 120 houses have also been taken over by the flood, while more than 500 residents have been sacked from their houses, turning them to refugees in their homestead.
A dangerous gully erosion along Akpan Etong Street has swallowed some houses even as a man was reported to have died recently in the menacing flood
Though Ikot Obio Atai or Urua Ekpa Road is in Itu LGA, the affected communities are within Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA) and the flooded area is less than two kilometres from the main gate of the town campus of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO).
Kufreabasi Edidem, who represents Itu constituency in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, who is also an indigene of Ikot Obio Atai, said he was the chairman of Itu Council Area during the administration of Godswill Akpabio when the flood menace started.
He recalled that all the state government did was to refer him to the then deputy governor, who facilitated officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to visit the village and share relief materials to the victims.
Edidem claimed that as a member of the House of Assembly, he brought the state Commissioner for Environment and Works to inspect the flood site.
He said he forwarded the complaint to the state government, with the hope that the flood site would be included in the 2022 Akwa Ibom State budget.
“By God’s special grace, I am sure it will be in the budget by next year,” he said
On why he has not brought the issue before the Assembly under matter of urgent public importance, Edidem retorted: “ Do you want the thing on the floor or you want the problem solved? So if you want the problem solved, it is when you are a legislator and you don’t have good relationship with the executive and the executive does not listen to you that is when you bring matter to the floor of the house to catch the attention of the executive. But if the executive is already listening to you. The commissioner for finance and commissioner for environment followed me, they made the engineering drawings and they are working on the next year budget. It has been put in the budget, so what do you want the matter on the floor? It is for sensationalism or what?”
A garri seller, who identified herself simply as Mercy, lamented that the flood had sacked many residents of the area and crippled their businesses as students of UNIUYO, who were the bulk of tenants in the area as well as patrons of businesses have left the environment.
She stated that there was no natural stream or body of water, rather the new roads like Udoette, UNIUYO and Itam Market areas, among others contribute to the flooding of the area which is the lowest point around.
A resident and a keke rider in the area, Titus Ekpe Sunday, said, “My room is flooded anytime it rains. When it rains for about two or three hours, we relocated from our rooms. If you were here the other day when it rained, you will not come up to this point.”
Sunday explained that they have no option than to live there because they do not have money to rent new accommodation or build new houses, stressing: “After the rain, we scoop the water and go back to our wet rooms.”
Mr. Ekpe Asukwo, landlord of 41 Urua Ekpa Road, lamented that residents cannot quantify their losses over the years because of the menace, appealing to the state government to come to their rescue.
The sacked village head of Ikot Obio Atai, Chief Mkpong, said the flood problem was beyond the village’s capacity to handle, noting that the community had written several letters to successive governments in the state to no avail.
“The community has written to the various governments but nothing has happened. Since 1999, nothing has happened. If it was possible, the community would have addressed the problem. It is difficult for us. Governor Udom Emmanuel should come and help us. We are all members of PDP. It is sad that even the village head ‘s house is under water yet they say that Akwa Ibom State is beautiful,” he said.
The Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board (RSPHCMB) says it will commence Supplemental Immunization activities on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to vaccinate children from 0-5 years across the State.
The State Health Educator, Dr. Diana Babbo, who stated this during a sensitisation meeting with Media Advocate for Health, Rivers State, on the update of immunization exercise in Rivers State, said the National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) is a re-enforcement of the routine immunization at the health facilities.
According to her, it is aimed at boosting polio immunisation against the circulating variance of polio virus currently threatening the total eradication of polio in the country.
She further stated that there are four pillars of polio eradication, namely routine immunization (administered on babies in the health centre), supplemental immunization activity (supplements to boost the babies), surveillance (searching for children that have weakness in their legs or some oart of their bodies), and outbreak response.
The Health Educator noted that the Novel Oral Polio Vaccination Type 2 (NOPV 2) will be administered to children under the age of 0-5 years, which targets a specific polio still in existence in communities and capable of causing paralysis among the stated categories of children, despite the country being certified a polio-free nation.
Dr. Babbo further stated that this year’s NIPDs will address the high number of unresolved non-compliance cases in the State.
She debunked what she tagged a false rumour by mischief makers which claimed that the vaccines are responsible for the development of autism in children.
She said, “vaccines are not known to be responsible for the development of autism. We’re just hearing that. The truth is that one cannot know everything.
“That aspect that has been found, have we looked into other aspects, such as genetically modified foods, drinks, and milks that our children are taking?
“Have we also looked at genetic compatibility between couples before we now say vaccines are causing x, y, z things?
“Are we looking at the environment where these things are happening, what they are peculiar to?
“It must not be peculiar to all the families, there could be something also that’s happening around that we have not known. Research is evolving, let us not accuse our precious vaccines that have succeeded so far in my knowledge, to keep as many sicknesses at bay.
“The reason we do not have small pox in our world today, apart from the lab (a bio-lab) is because we vaccinated to the point where we were able to move small pox totally out of existence from human beings. We can succeed with that same pattern with all kinds of viruses”.
She stated that the connection between autism and vaccination could merely be coincidence.
Babbo, therefore, urged all parents, churches, and school owners to avail their children/wards the opportunity to be vaccinated against polio the stated exercise.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has restated his administration’s commitment to providing more support to security agencies operating in the state.
He stated this on Tuesday when he received heads of security agencies, including Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Rear Admiral N.M. Madugu, Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ahmed Gaya, and the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 16, Yenagoa, Tolani Alausa, in Government House, Yenagoa.
The Governor assured security agencies across board that his administration would collaborate with them to protect lives and property as well as critical national assets on land and the waterways by providing patrol vehicles, boats and other necessary logistics.
He informed the new OPDS Commander that the task force had a responsibility to protect critical national, state and community assets contributing not only to the daily oil production output for the federal government but also to development and growth of the state.
The Governor stressed that the partnership between the state government and the task force had ensured that crime rate in the state was reduced.
“As a government, we are working round the clock with the security agencies so that our people can sleep with their two eyes closed and also ensure that national assets are safe for the benefit of the people and the government.
“Often, it is misconstrued as though these assets are only for the federal government. Rather, they are for the state, communities and the federal government. So we must work hand-in-gloves to ensure they are safe.
“Therefore, it is our responsibility to always ensure that these critical national, state and community assets are kept safe”, he said.
Responding to the request of the Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ahmed Gaya, the Governor stated that he had signed the Certificate of Occupancy of the land allocated to the Nigerian Navy at the New Yenagoa and approved a secondary school at Toru-Ebeni in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.
He said the State Government was waiting for the naval authorities to commence development of the land.
The new JTF Commander, Rear Admiral Madugu, stated that the visit was to formally introduce himself and to solicit the government’s support to achieve his aim of protecting the critical oil and gas facilities in his area of operation and fulfil the presidential mandate of increasing oil production to 2.5mbpd.
While promising to work with the Nigerian Police to maintain peace in the state, Diri admonished AIG Tolani to be repentant and be more professional in his duties having attained a top position in the force.
The Governor, who recalled the role Tolani played when he was Commissioner of Police in the state during the 2023 governorship election, said: “Let bygone be bygone and work according to your conscience. Ensure that you are repentant and do what is right. Your zone covers Bayelsa and Rivers states and let the interest of both states be uppermost on your mind.”
On disputes among community youth associations, the state’s helmsman wielded the big stick and announced the dissolution of such body in Famgbe Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area.
He directed the Commissioner for Youth Development, working with the Commissioner of Police, to ensure a proper election is held in the community.
Diri also warned that traditional rulers whose communities were embroiled in conflicts would be sanctioned.
“Every other feuding community, including Ogboinbiri, we are still watching you. I have told all traditional rulers, if you cannot ensure peace in your domain but waiting for my wrath to dangle on you, then both traditional rulers and youth bodies will be sacrificed”, Diri said.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has said no profession in the health sector was superior to others, saying there was need for cooperation among workers in every health facility to achieve optimal results.
He stated this during a courtesy visit by the Bayelsa branch of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) to his office in Government House, Yenagoa, on Tuesday.
He assured that a good number of certified and competent medical laboratory scientists, as well as other medical and health practitioners would be employed based on the needs assessment indices at government’s disposal in the ongoing civil service recruitment exercise.
While appreciating their contributions to quality healthcare service delivery, he said government was ready to collaborate with the Association and other critical stakeholders in the sector to make health services more affordable and accessible to people of the state.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, said the current recruitment drive was aimed at addressing manpower needs in some critical sectors, including health, to improve service delivery in the state.
“We’re making progress in the health sector in Bayelsa. But we also admit that there is still much room for improvement.
“As you’re aware, applicants are applying to the state civil service, and some employment slots have been approved for Medical Doctors and Laboratory Scientists to be employed.
“We need competent and highly qualified personnel to be employed into the service to provide quality services.
“Every health worker has a role in health promotion. No profession in the health sector is superior to another. We are ready to collaborate with you to make health services more affordable and accessible to all Bayelsans”, he said.
Earlier in her presentation, the State Chairman of the AMLSN, Eunice Ayamaere Lelei, said there was need for government to employ more qualified laboratory scientists, and provide modern laboratory equipment in all its medical facilities across the state.
Lelei, who emphasized that laboratory scientists play a critical role in healthcare services in Nigeria, called for the implementation of the approved call duty allowance for members of the Association, and funding support for their Mandatory Professional Continuing Development programmes.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa