Members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ((NUJ), Warri Correspondents Chapel, Delta State, have appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to swiftly come to the aid of flood victims in the state.
The chapel made the plea following its monthly congress held on Thursday at its secretariat in Gbiaye Street, Warri, Warri South Local Government Area of the state.
The journalists appealed to the state government to urgently come to the aid of flood victims in the Warri metropolis and environs.
The flood was orchestrated after a near ceaseless heavy downpour that ravaged several communities in the state earlier in the week.
In the same vein, the media practitioners advised residents in flood-prone areas to heed the earlier warnings from different relevant Federal Government agencies, notably the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET) on the need to evacuate from flood plains.
In the communique issued at the end of the congress and signed by Okies Veeky and Dele Fasan, the chapel’s chairman and secretary, the chapel urged the state government to immediately intervene by coming to the aide of the flood victims, by evacuating them to a safer place and provision of relief materials.
While reiterating the urgency of the need for government to wade in, the chapel noted with concern the losses reportedly suffered by many residents whose houses and business premises were submerged by flood on the heels of the three days of consecutive heavy downpours.
The journalists union, however, enjoined residents across the state to clean their drainages and desist from emptying the garbage into drains to avoid blockages.
The union also renewed their call on the state government to accord priority to the rehabilitation of all failed roads and drainages within the Warri metropolis and environs.
It noted that the gesture would help in mitigating the challenges arising from floods in the affected Delta communities.
The chapel tasked the management of Warri, Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency (WUEDA) to rise up to its responsibilities by positively impacting the mandate communities.
It was also resolved at the congress that members should, henceforth, resume the coverage of the state government’s activities as a platform for government to get feedback from the public and vice versa.
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