Bayelsa monarch sleeps in car as flood sacks palace

Says he can’t abandon community His Highness, Amos Poubinafa, the traditional ruler of Tungbo town in Sagbama LGA of Bayelsa State now sleeps in his car as flood waters have sacked him from his palace. He said, “I have been sleeping in my Toyota Sienna for two weeks since the flood ravaged the palace. It […]

• Says he can’t abandon community

His Highness, Amos Poubinafa, the traditional ruler of Tungbo town in Sagbama LGA of Bayelsa State now sleeps in his car as flood waters have sacked him from his palace.

He said, “I have been sleeping in my Toyota Sienna for two weeks since the flood ravaged the palace. It reached knee level and made the palace uninhabitable.’’

Poubinafa, a retired naval lieutenant commander, further said, “The car is the only safe place for me; the entire building is flooded and there is no safer place for me to sleep.

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

“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 explained that he equally suffered in the floods of 2012 as he could not leave his subjects and relocate and that the situation was worse in 2022.

He, therefore, appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Bayelsa Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and well-meaning individuals to assist the flood victims of Tungbo town.

He also called on the federal government to construct dams and dredge the Niger and Benue rivers to end perennial flooding in parts of the country.

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