The Bayelsa State government has alleged that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state diverted some of the palliatives sent by the Federal Ministry of Regional Development for flood victims. 
Commissioner for Information, Orientation, and Strategy, Mrs. Ebiowou Koku-Obiyai, revealed this during a Monday briefing, stating, “This is what we received as a state from the Federal Government.
However, information at our disposal has it that more things were brought into the state and were shared among APC stakeholders.”
Among the officially received items were 2,000 bags of 50 kg rice, six bags of beans, 150 cartons of spaghetti, 1,000 mosquito nets, 100 cartons of tomato paste, six bags of detergent, and other essential supplies.
However, Koku-Obiyai noted that these provisions fell short of the state’s needs, stating, “2,000 bags of rice is not even enough for a ward or constituency.”
She added that the state government would soon distribute these supplies to flood victims and vulnerable groups while expressing concern over the alleged diversion of additional items.
Reacting to the accusation, APC’s Assistant Publicity Secretary in Bayelsa State, Mr. Coronation Tokpo, dismissed the allegations as baseless, emphasizing that
“Federal government palliatives are not sent to political parties but to states.”
He further argued that APC members have often been excluded from palliative distributions in the state, claiming the process has historically been politicized along party lines.
Meanwhile, the state government has reiterated the importance of prioritizing the needs of flood victims over political affiliations, urging transparency and accountability in palliative distribution.
