In a statement released, Igrubia said that the food items, notably rice and garri were remnants of the 2022 flood palliatives and were not hoarded by the agency or the state government.
The Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA) has urged residents of the state who looted food items at a privately-owned warehouse not to consume it.
This followed allegations that the government hid the palliative from people who needed it.
Some angry residents in Yenagoa, the State capital, had invaded a warehouse where palliatives consisting of Rice, Beans, Garri, Noodles, and other items meant to be distributed to victims of the devastating flood in 2022 are stored and carted away the items. The incident occurred at about 7.45pm on Sunday, August 27, almost an hour after the director-general, Hon. Walamam Sam Igrubia, alongside some BYSEMA personnel, left the warehouse premises.
In a statement released, Igrubia said that the food items, notably rice and garri were remnants of the 2022 flood palliatives and were not hoarded by the agency or the state government. He stressed that they were not to be consumed as they had been polluted.
The statement in part reads
“As part of preparations for an impending flood this year, the DG visited the premises and in his presence, remnants of food items, notably rice and garri that were no longer fit for consumption, were cleared from the warehouse and placed outside for disposal the next day. The remnants, which were swept from the floor and packed in disused bags, were less than 10 bags of rice and garri and with some broken cans of oil.
For emphasis, BYSEMA states that these items were not fresh food palliatives and were not hoarded by the agency or the state government.
Importantly, these items are unfit for human consumption and a responsible, caring government like ours will not give Bayelsans such items as palliatives.
In essence, there were really no food items to loot. So, those who carted away the unfit items are please advised in their own interest not to consume them”