Governor Wike during his visit to some of the flooded areas in Port Harcourt on Sunday

A lawmaker in Rivers, Mrs Victoria Nyeche, has decried the havoc wreaked by the flood on most part of the state capital, Port Harcourt, describing the situation as unfortunate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many homes in most parts of Port Harcourt the state capital were flooded following consistent heavy downpour from Friday to Sunday.

Many residents lost properties to the rain while some were even displaced from their homes but no life was reported lost.

Nyeche, (APC- Port Harcourt Constituency 1) in the State House of Assembly, stated this on Monday during a sympathy visit to Nkpogu community in Port Harcourt badly affected by the flood.

She said it was an unfortunate situation in Rivers because the state government was forewarned by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) but it failed to take action.

“Yes, NIMET forewarned Rivers government but on their own part, they were not forearmed to minimise the effect,” the lawmaker said.

Nyeche said that her visit to the community was to sympathise with the people affected by the flood and reassure them of her efforts to mitigate their pains.

“I am here to sympathise with you over the loss of your valuables and reassure you of the Constituency’s efforts in mitigating the effect of the flood disaster.

“If the state government fails to do anything about your situation now, I assure you that the federal government will act,” she said.

The only female lawmaker disclosed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had set up an Environment/Flooding Committee to interface with the victims.

“Governance is about the people and this is the time for governance when it’s time for politics, we will politick.

“I assure you once more that I will project and defend your course as your representative,” she added.

Nyeche urged the constituents to live environmentally sustainable lifestyles by disposing of waste properly and not build on waterways.

According to her, for development to be sustainable, sand filling and land reclamation projects should not be done without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and spelt out Environmental Management Plans (EMP)

“Sincerely, it appears that no EIA and EMP was done with regards to the Rivers Government Reclamation Project at Nkpogwu bye pass by Ogbunabali community in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area,” she said.

(NAN)