The Labour Party presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, on Saturday, visited the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, to sympathise with him and the people of the state over the devastating flood disaster.
He and his team were received at the Government House, Yenagoa by Diri, his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo and some top government officials before proceeding to the Internally Displaced Persons’ camp at the Oxbow Lake in the state capital.
Speaking at the IDP camp, Obi, who carried out an overfly of Bayelsa in a chopper before landing at Government House, expressed shock at the level of damage caused by the natural catastrophe and the suffering of victims.
The former governor of Anambra State called on the Federal Government of Nigeria and well-meaning organisations to come to the rescue of Bayelsa and save the people from their plight.
He said, “What I saw while in the air, and of course, what I have seen here (at the Oxbow Lake IDP camp), we are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria, agencies that mean well to come to your aid and support.
“So the Federal Government should come and intervene as quickly as possible. Other agencies should intervene as quickly as possible.”
In his remarks, the State Governor, Douye Diri, thanked the LP presidential standard flagbearer for visiting to show solidarity and identify with the government and people of Bayelsa in their time of trouble.
He expressed displeasure over Federal Government’s nonchalant approach to the natural disaster in the state, saying the situation called for urgent measures to tackle the overwhelming impacts of the flood.
While describing Obi as “a senior citizen of Nigeria, the first who has come to empathize and commiserate with the people of Bayelsa,” Diri commended the LP presidential candidate for joining him to urge the Federal Government to demonstrate love for the people of the state.
He stated that lives, houses, farmlands and fish farms had been lost to the flood, which he described as “the new landlord”, stressing that “99 per cent of Bayelsans are living as Internally Displaced Persons.”
He said, “Thank God you flew and you have seen how Bayelsans are living in inhuman conditions. The last time I checked, I repeat, Bayelsa State is still one of the federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“While Mr President has given us hope, I want to thank you for still joining me to call on the Federal Government to show more empathy and love to the people of Bayelsa from where oil and gas flow in this country; from where others feed fat in the Federal Republic of Nigeria; from where our resources are taken to Abuja to be allocated.”
