FLOOD: Relocate, Delta warns residents of coastal communities

ASABA—Delta State Government, yesterday, warned residents in coastal areas of the state, to relocate as soon as possible, to avoid being submerged or trapped by the impending flood. Handing down the warning while briefing newsmen after the weekly State Executive Council, SEC, meeting of the state, Commissioners for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah; for Works, Chief James Augoye ,and his Basic and Secondary Education counterpart, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, said as part of effort towards tackling the flood, the government had set up a high-powered committee with the state Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, as
Chairman.
He said though an awareness campaign was going on in different riverine communities, sensitizing them on the urgent need to relocate to safe areas, the committee was necessary to reduce the effects of the impending disaster.

Ukah held that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration, was not leaving any stone unturned to safeguard the lives and properties of Deltans, and said the committee was to ensure that appropriate measures were applied to educate and protect the people.

On his part, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Ebie, disclosed that at the meeting, presided over by Governor Okowa, approval was given for the establishment of three new secondary schools in Asaba, Ughelli and Agbor, to address the problem of rising population in public schools as a result of the handover of some schools to the missionaries.

Ebie explained that due to the current financial crunch, existing structures would be used for the new schools and said the intention of Government was to maintain the universally accepted students to teachers’ ratio.
Saying that teachers would be deployed to the new schools, he said the Post Primary Education Board, PPEB, had more than 14, 000 teachers in its payroll.

He said: “Despite the financial situation of the economy, the EXCO looked at the need to ensure that our children get the best in education, so, the new schools will reduce the crowding being witnessed in some of the schools and we are doing it with little or no cost because we are using existing structures”.

Commissioner for Works, Mr Augoye, said government had directed the State Direct Labour Agency, DLA, to embark on palliative measures to make the roads motorable, while waiting for the dry season to comment to stop. He said: “We are going to embark on massive construction of roads, we are just waiting for the rain to stop.”