The Bayelsa State government has commenced the official closing down of camps set up for persons affected by the flood disaster.
The largest IDP camp located at the Ox-Bow Lake Pavilion was shut down on Saturday, while others in the Igbogene suburb of the state capital and elsewhere were closed on Sunday.
The Commandant of the Ox-Bow Lake Pavilion IDP Camp, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, commended the state governor, Douye Diri, for his show of empathy and capacity in the management of this year’s flooding and victims in the state.
Koku-Obiyai, who is also the Chief Whip of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, said over 12,000 IDPs were accommodated in the camp.
She said that the state government fed them daily for the time the camping lasted without any death recorded.
Responding to complaints that the water has not receded in some areas, the Chief Whip said, “Many of them (IDPs) would not like to go because of the nature of feeding. We are all Bayelsans and we know the flood has receded in so many places. Even as we are talking, the flood is receding. So we know; we are Bayelsans.
“So, we will allow people to say what they want. We are not insensitive to that. The governor, ordinarily, would have closed this camp on Wednesday. But we are also observing what is happening in places, which is why the governor and the government decided to close this camp on Saturday and Igbogene camps on Sunday. We have been here for 27 to 28 days.”
