The National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) in the South-South, has handed over relief materials to Delta State Government for victims of oil spill that occurred in Odidi, Warri Local Government Area.
The South-South Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr Benjamin Oghenah, made the disclosure last Monday in Port Harcourt in a statement issued to newsmen.
Oghenah, who represented Alhaji Sani Sidi, NEMA’s Director-General, expressed sympathy over the incident that destroyed farmlands, fish ponds and polluted drinking water and other sources of livelihood of the people.
He commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta for his prompt intervention to assist the victims of the spill.
He said that NEMA would collaborate with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to put in place efficient and effective disaster management structures in Delta.
“The agency had initially assessed the situation with SEMA and intervened with hundreds of packs of bottled water as palliative measures,“he said.
Oghenah said that the continuous oil spill in the area was of ‘grave concern’ to the government and the agency.
He said that while the government was battling with oil pipeline vandals, cases of failure in equipment would no longer be taken as an excuse to cause hardship.
He called on oil companies and relevant agencies of government to put in place adequate measures to guide against re-occurrence.
In his response, Mr Emmanuel Yugbovwe, Permanent Secretary, Delta Emergency Management Agency (DTSEMA), who received the relief materials on behalf of the government, commended NEMA for its assistance.
He expressed hope that the relief materials would bring succour to the communities devastated by the spill.
Yugbovwe promised that government would ensure that the materials were distributed judiciously to the benefit of the victims.
The materials included bags rice, mattresses, blankets, sugar, salt, wax prints, bags of beans, bags of garii, vegetable oil, palm oil, cartons of indomie, cartons of milk, cartons of tomatoes,
Others are cartons of tomatoes, packs of bottled water, cartons of bath soap, nylon mats and cartons of detergents.