Bayelsa monarch sleeps in car over flooded palace

The traditional ruler of Tungbo in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, His Highness, Amos Poubinafa, says he has been sleeping in his car for over two weeks after his palace was ravaged by flood.

“I have been sleeping in my Toyota Sienna for two weeks since the flood ravaged the palace.

“It reached the knee level and made the palace uninhabitable,” the retired naval officer said in Tungbo, Bayelsa State, on Monday.

The monarch, who retired from the Nigerian Navy as a lieutenant commander in 2002 before he ascended the throne, disclosed that his family members have relocated to Yenagoa, the state capital, adding: “The car is the only safe place for me; the entire building is flooded and there is no safe place for me to sleep.

“My family has been relocated to Yenagoa. As the Captain on board (traditional ruler) this vessel, I cannot abandon my subjects to seek alternative abode outside the town.

READ ALSO: Abducted UI Professor: How I was attacked on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

“By my training as a naval officer, I am not expected to abandon the crew I am leading in my vessel. I am expected to be the last man standing.”

Poubinafa stated that he equally suffered in flooding incidents which occurred in 2012 as he could not leave his people and relocate, adding that the situation is worse in 2022.

The traditional ruler, however, appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and other well-meaning individuals to assist flood victims in the Tungbo area of the state.

He also called on the Federal Government to construct dams and dredge River Niger and Benue to end perennial flooding in some parts of the country.

Tungbo is host to the Federal Scones and Technical College, a co-educational college founded in 2002 and located on Sagbama-Tungbo Road.

The Star