The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) Rivers State branch has donated various materials to the Rivers State government to assist flood victims in the state.

Presenting the relief items to the Commissioner for Special Duties in Port Harcourt, Tuesday, the chairman of NIESV, Mr. Emma Wike who led other members of the group, said that they took the step to show sympathy to the flood victims, as well as support the government of Rivers State with what they have.

The NIESV chairman said: “As land administrators and managers who are practicing in Rivers State, we discovered that our area of operations which is land has been affected by natural disaster recently, we are here to show appreciation to God and to sympathise with our brothers and sisters.”

He however urged both the state and Federal Governments to undertake a research to identify the cause of the flooding, with a view to forestalling further occurrence.

Wike also indicated the preparedness of NIESV as Land Managers to partner with government in the area of giving professional service free of charge in tackling the issue, as well as getting accurate value of property lost in the disaster for future reference purposes. He commended the Rivers State government for its prompt response in making available a place for people to donate to the flood victims.

In his response, the Commissioner for  Special Duties, Emeka Nwogu said that the state government has spent so much in giving relief to the flood victims, planting out that the demand keeps increasing everyday, as many communities were being submerged continuously, which makes it look like much has not been done.

The Commissioner said that what ever they have given was just a relief to the people, and urged the public and multi-national companies to donate to the victims of the flood, stressing that government alone cannot tackle everything about relief.

Mr. Nwogu however thanked NIESV for the donations, noting that the example it has shown was unique, since NESV is not a profit making organisation. He promised that the items so donated will judiciously be utilized.

Items donated includes 130 tubers of yam, 20 bags of rice, 56 cartoons of indomie, two bags of garri, six bags of omo, 20 litres of groundnut oil and three cartoons of maggi among others.  

Also responding to the presentation, the Publicity Secretary of NIESV, Mr. Monday Ahiewe, urged other professional bodies to come out and support government.

Corlinus Walter