Commissioner Apportions Blame, As Rains Sacks Students

Students of the school owned by the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs were on Monday sacked by flood caused by an early morning downpour which lasted for over four hours.

The flood which is a regular visitor to the school whenever it rains, is caused by negligence of past and present governments to construct drainage channels to control erosion in Asaba, the state capital.

The torrential downpour broke through fences, immersed government ministries and sent ministry officials packing as the flood took over offices in the old state secretariat in Asaba.

An eyewitness report said the school children were being evacuated from the flooded school as the tidal wave broke through the fence that separated the school from one of the adjoining streets as its force was greater than that of the fence.

As it broke through the fence, it poured into the school thereby sending the school children and the teachers running and scampering for safety.

The flood took over the entire school even as a sympathiser said the school resume again until the flood permanently dries off the ground.

Shop owners, newspaper vendors and horticultural centres built along the path of the flood were also sent packing as the ferocious flood took over the entire area spreading menacingly and gaining ground in the area.

Omotsola Williams, Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Special Adviser to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, on Children’s Right, Bridget Anyafulu and officials of the ministry however apportioned blame on the teachers over one negligence in the school.

The embarrassed ministry officials were seen driving their cars out in droves while parents of the school children were on ground to collect their school who had escaped from the deadly flood.

Some of the officials who commented blamed Governor Okowa for not giving attention to the drainage challenge in the state capital, though said his administration had commissioned some poor roads in the state capital.

Part of the fence that was broken where the flood gained entrance into the school from where it spread to other ministries

Most roads in Asaba are usually submerged as soon as rain pours on the city. Most deadly is one of the major roads, the Direct Labour Agency road which is a leading road in the state capital.

It was learnt that it was awarded to a prominent person in the state but was abandoned by the previous administration of Emmanuel Uduaghan, who consistently told journalists that the road would be built before leaving office on May 29, 2015.

Across the city of Asaba, one sees broken roads without drainages, hence as soon as rain pours, Asaba becomes a mini river.