On Sunday night, some Bayelsa people went into a warehouse in Yenagoa where the state government was storing supplies for the 2022 floods and stole some food that was allegedly already going bad.
People reportedly enraged by the hardship in the nation brought on by the elimination of the Federal Government's subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), often known as gasoline, robbed the warehouse along the Isaac Boro Expressway in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The elimination of subsidies caused an increase in gasoline prices from around N190 to about N620 per litre and had a negative impact on the cost of products and services as well as transportation fees.
The food that was removed, according to the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA), was not fit for human consumption because it had been kept during the state's flood in 2022.
It was unknown if the warehouse stolen in Yenagoa included the food goods promised by the Federal Government, despite the fact that the administration led by President Bola Tinubu had declared a sum of N5 billion in palliative and grant to the states for subsequent distribution to Nigerians.
In response to the invasion of the warehouse, the Director-General of BYSEMA, Hon. Walamam Sam Igrubia, said in a statement on Monday that the agency was getting ready for an upcoming flood when the DG visited the premises, and in his presence, food remnants, particularly rice and garri that were no longer fit for consumption, were cleared from the warehouse and placed outside for disposal prior to the invasion.
In the Kpansia neighborhood of Yenagoa, the state's capital, he noted: "The Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA) observes with astonishment and concern the unauthorized invasion of the premises of a privately-owned warehouse.
"On Sunday, August 27, at around 7.45 p.m., the incident took place, over an hour after the Director-General, Hon. Walamam Sam Igrubia, and a few BYSEMA employees, had departed the warehouse premises.
"The Agency used the warehouse to stockpile food during the state's flood in 2022. The DG visited the location as part of preparations for an upcoming flood this year. While he was there, food remains, including rice and garri that were no longer safe to eat, were removed from the warehouse and placed outside for disposal the following day.
Less than ten bags of rice and garri, along with a few broken oil cans, were among the leftovers that were picked up from the floor and placed inside old bags.
"BYSEMA emphasizes that neither the Agency nor the state government stockpiled these supplies, nor were they fresh food palliatives.
Importantly, these products are inedible, and a competent, compassionate government like ours would not provide Bayelsans with them as palliatives.
In essence, there were no food products available for plunder. Therefore, people who removed the inappropriate things are kindly recommended not to consume them in their own best interest.
It also denounces the state's opposition forces' efforts to turn the incident into a political football in an effort to earn easy political points.
"The agency reassures the public of the level of its preparedness to handle the distribution of palliatives provided by the Federal Government as part of containing the effects of its fuel subsidy removal policy as well as the fallout from an impending flooding this year."
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