House directs relief agencies to assist victims of fire outbreak

Moved by the hardship faced by victims of recent fire disasters in two fishing communities of Ibeno and Mbo local government areas, the Akwa Ibom State House Assembly has directed the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA,  and the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to immediately send relief materials to the people of Utong and Ibaka fishing settlements. The House has also called on officials in the office of the Deputy Governor responsible for emergency management and disaster relief to respond swiftly to the needs of victims of the fire incidents which led to the destruction properties worth millions of naira according to lawmakers representing the two affected constituencies. The resolution of the House was passed on Tuesday sequel  to a matter of urgent public importance brought before the assembly by members representing Esit Eket/Ibeno, Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh and his colleague from Mbo, Hon. Samuel Ufuo. The lawmakers had informed the Speaker that the sad development occurred last week  in their constituencies, and prayed the House to take urgent steps to ameliorate the sufferings faced by the people of the areas. Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh stated that the fire outbreak which occurred at Utong fishing settlement in Iwuochang, Ibeno local government area, on Friday, 12th February, 2016 at about 2am has rendered over 500 people homeless and destroyed properties worth million of naira. The Mbo representative, Hon. Ufo, told the  House that the fire incident in his constituency occurred at Ibaka fishing settlement last week destroying properties and rendering many homeless. He pleaded the House to intervene with a view of stopping a re-occurrence. The lawmaker therefore urged the state government to establish a fire station  at Ibaka. In his reaction, the Speaker,  Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke, sympathised with the people of the two fishing communities and called on the state fire service  to register their presence in remote communities especially fishing settlements in order  to prevent  a repeat  of such disaster anywhere in the state. He directed relevant federal and state agencies responsible for emergency and disaster relief  to reach out to the  affected communities in Mbo and Ibeno to cushion the effects of the disaster