By CHARLES IWUOHA

Ebonyi State Emergency Management Agency (EB-SEMA) has flagged off the distribution of relief materials to 2019 flood victims across the state.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Ken Ozioma Eze, who flagged off the distribution in Abakaliki on Tuesday, urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items.

He said the first beneficiaries of the relief items would be the people of Ivo Local Government Area, being the most badly affected by flood disaster in the state.

According to him, the materials came from the Presidential Committee on flood Disaster, adding that the agency received over 32 items from the Presidential Committee.

Dr. Eze explained that EB-SEMA had carried out assessments of the 2019 flood disaster in the state and wrote to some local, federal and international donor agencies when the disaster occurred. He commended the donors for coming to the aid of the victims.

The EB-SEMA Executive Secretary assured that the materials would be shared to every part of the State affected by flood disaster in 2019.

Dr. Eze further commended the State Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, on the efforts of his administration in assisting flood victims as well as victims of other disasters across the state.

He said: “We had series of flood disaster in Ebonyi State in the previous years, and we carried out assessments and wrote to some local, federal and international donor agencies and by the grace of God, we had a response from one of the federal agencies which gave us the relief materials we are distributing to the flood victims today.

“These relief materials came from the Presidential Committee on Flood Disaster and we have over 32 items that are here, including sugar, cartons of spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, bags of cement, roofing sheets, salts, beans, buckets, plates, garri, tomatoes, mattresses, vegetable oil, red oil, treated mosquito nets, towels, and others.

“The relief materials are going to touch every part of the State, but we have some local government areas that we have a very large number of persons that applied corporately such as Ivo LGA.

“In Ivo LGA, we have an experience there, though not just once; it has continued to occur since 2016 that we started recording flooding there, which is as a result of uncompleted dam project in the area. So, about three communities are involved in Ivo LGA. Other LGAs that are involved are Ebonyi, Ikwo, Abakaliki, Ezza North, and others.”

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