Schools in the Akwa Ibom State capital
, Uyo, on Thursday, July 2, 2015 suspended classes due to floods which was said to have gotten to the window levels of some of the schools.
According to PUNCH reports, pupils of the Methodist Primary School, Itiam Etoi, along Oron Road were asked to return home by two of their teachers due to the flood. Pupils of the school complained about the classrooms which according to them were no longer conducive as a result of the leaking roofs which caused damage to their books and uniforms.
Emmanuel Inyang, a primary six pupil, revealed that flood was not the only problem the school faced as there was also the issue of safety because hoodlums usually slept in their classrooms and stole from the school farms.
He said, “This is our third term. Now that rain has started, we are going to miss classes. If you had come earlier, you would have seen that the level of the flood was more than this.”
Mrs. Eno Ediwok, a teacher of the school who could not get to the school as a result of the flood said that teachers who were able to get through to the school were asked to send pupils home. She said it was impossible for classes to hold because the flood sweeps through the classrooms.
According to Mrs Ante Edet, a resident of the area, the hoodlums often resorted to harassing young ladies who passed through the school premises in the evenings. She claimed that a number of these incidents have been reported to the police who allegedly have not done anything about them.
There was no pupil present at the St. Patrick’s School, Iboko, in Ukana Offot save for a few teachers. According to one of the teachers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, she said that it would be unwise for the life of any child to be risked for any reason. She said that the flood were over the window levels and that the pupils had to be sent home due to this.
She however said that a chief in the area had come to verify from the school why the pupils were sent home.
Similarly, flood in the Delta State capital, Asaba allegedly killed four persons including a pregnant woman due to heavy downpour which left residents of DLA Road, Asaba, stranded on Thursday, July 2, 2015. The victims reportedly fell into some drainage channels filled with rain water and drowned.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, the victims identified as Rosemary Iyamah, Paul Nwanibi, Celestine Chigozie and Emeka Nwaru were evacuated to the mortuary at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba. He said the victims were swept into the drainages and had gulped some water.
