Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has ordered members of his cabinet to directly supervise distribution of relief materials to flood victims in the state.
The governor gave the directive following complaints that materials meant for the victims were being diverted.
He was said to be aggrieved that some officials of the flood committee were accused of diverting the relief materials as well as discriminating against the victims.
The governor was said to be particularly furious at his Senior Special Assistant on Non-Indigene, Mr. Chinedu Mba, for behavingin a way that had portrayed his government in bad light.
He was said to have directed the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kingsley Omire and the Director of the State Security Service, Mr. Andrew Ioryakar, to visit the relief camps,assess the situations and report to him.
Omire and ioryakar, who visited three of the camps including the non-indigenous camp were said to have been inundated with complaints of hunger and sharp practices.
There was also the allegation that the victimspaid between N50 and N100 to officials before they were registered at the camps.
Dickson was said to have immediately ordered closure of the camp and immediately relocated the occupants to the camp at BDGS.
Confirming the development, the Deputy Governor, Mr. John Jonah, in a statement by his Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Mr. Ebi Evinson, said henceforth commissioners would be involved in distributing the materials.
He said the commissioners, who were expected to work in conjunction with local government chairmen and councillors wouldbe held responsible for lapses in the distribution of the materials.
and KaS � a �/# h � were constructed after the 1969 disaster, were able to contend with upsurge of water from the River Niger.
He said the dearth of dams in the Benue axisaggravated the disaster, adding that there was an urgent need for the government to construct dams in the area.
He said it was difficult for any government toplan for natural disasters like flooding, noting that government could only plan for other forms of disasters like the ones that occur in the aviation sector.
He said, "Flooding is not something very common. The last big flood that we experienced in this country was 43 years ago. It is difficult to build an infrastructure tointervene. I have noticed that the flooding we used to experience before came from the River Niger.
"With the completion of the Kainji Dam and the Shiroro Dam, that flooding reduced. This year, when I visited Kogi State and we went to the confluence point, we were told that the bulk of the water came in from Benue."
Corruption crops up again even in time of crises people are still taking advantage of a sad situation.