NEMA Distributes Relief Materials to Rivers IDPs

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said it has distributed food and other materials to more than 800 people displaced by flood in five affected local government areas of Rivers State.

NEMA’s Coordinator, Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Rivers and Bayelsa states, Mr. Yakubu Suleiman, stated this at a stakeholders meeting yesterday in Port Harcourt.

He said the distribution was part of the agency’s intervention to provide succour to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the affected areas.

Suleiman said the stakeholders’ meeting was called to assess the activities of the EOC and their challenges in Port Harcourt.

According to him, the absence of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Rivers posed challenges in the course of the intervention unlike what obtained in neighbouring Bayelsa.

“We have started distribution of the intervention materials after assessments of the areas. We had some challenges which the presence SEMA would have taken care of.

“We were able to control the situation in Bayelsa because the state SEMA was on ground already so we had necessary equipment to work with unlike in Rivers State.

“Here we are working with the local government chairmen, who we were told to work with because they are from those affected areas and know the areas very well,’’ Suleiman said.

Suleiman, who also commended the local government chairmen from the areas, said that items distributed so far were rice, beans, garri, milk, Milo, sugar, vegetable oil, and palm oil.

He said that items also distributed to the IDPs were: tin tomatoes, detergent, bathing soap, children’s wear, men’s wear, women’s wear, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, and buckets.

Others are cups, spoons, nylon mats, plates, clothing materials spoons and tent among others.