Officials allegedly loot flood relief materials in Delta

By Emma Amaize

WARRI—Scandal is trailing alleged embezzlement and sharing of foodstuff belonging to flood victims in Warri by some unscrupulous government officials and leaders of Ayakoromo community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

The state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, had, last month, removed a staff of the Bureau for Special Duties, Asaba, from the disbanded Illah Camp for flood victims for allegedly siphoning funds and ordered him to refund the money immediately.

He said it was callous for anybody to rip-off internally displaced persons, IDPs, in their predicament and warned that government would deal decisively with any official involved in such embarrassing act.

However, officials of the State Emergency Relief Agency, SEMA, appear not to have learnt any lesson, as they allegedly embarked on the same embarrassing act last Wednesday in collusion with a few leaders of Ayakoromo.

Vanguard gathered that while the flood camp at the Swamp Road residence of Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, was winding up last Wednesday, members of the community flood management team drove in with several cars to cart away the remaining relief materials.

They ignored the protest of the appointed leader of the flood victims, Brakala Ebikeniye, who pleaded that government should convey the relief materials for the victims to Ayakoromo where it was obvious they were going to face starvation on return.

It was also learnt that the swindlers shortchanged government in the payment of “token pocket money” of N5,000 and N3,000 to each adult and child affected by the flood, as they reportedly inflated the list submitted to government.