By Festus Ahon

ASABA—SUCCOUR came the way of victims of the 2015 flood disaster in Delta State as the Presidential Committee on Flood and Rehabilitation, flagged off the distribution of relief materials to affected communities in the state.

Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, during the formal handover of the relief materials to the victims through the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, in Asaba, expressed Federal Government’s sympathy and concern to the welfare of the victims.

Okowa

Dangote, who was represented by Mr. Ifiok Abia, said the committee was inaugurated in October, 2012 with an overriding mandate to raise funds to complement government’s efforts aimed at mitigating the pains of the victims and assist in their post impact rehabilitation.

He said: “Although the committee’s mandate was primarily for victims of the 2012 flood, we deemed it necessary to extend the gesture to victims of the 2015 flood disaster in the spirit of being our brothers’ keeper.”

He disclosed that the committee had awarded contracts for the construction of two Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs’ hostels and 10 solar powered boreholes in each of the 22 states affected by the 2012 flood, including an additional two flood prone states in 2014 and 2015.

According to him, funds for the projects were from donations from well meaning individuals and organisations and not from Federal Government’s coffers.

State Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties, Mr. Chike Ossai, who received the items on behalf of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, thanked the committee for assisting the state government in its effort to rehabilitate the victims of the 2015 flood.

Ossai disclosed that 21 communities in 16 local government areas that were affected in the state had been captured as beneficiaries of the relief materials.