The Akwa Ibom state government has doled out financial aid to 1,959 flood victims in Eket and Uyo areas of the state. The Permanent Secretary in-charge of the Deputy Governor’s Office, Mrs Sylvia Ekpo, made this known to the press, noting that the relief fund was given to individuals affected by the natural disaster and not families. She stressed that the cash sum of N50000 was the amount allotted to each of the victims. “The beneficiaries are those who made official reports to our office. The day after the flood, I and my boss went to the spot to assess the situation. In Eket we captured 1,670 names, while in Uyo we had 289 victims,’’ she said.

According to the permanent secretary, only those whose cases were reported to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were the eligible candidates of the financial assistance, after assessment and data capture by the emergency. “The government decided that instead of giving the victims relief materials, we should give them financial assistance,’’ she concluded.