The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib, has called on the Oyo State Government to create Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in all the 33 Local Government Areas of the state, in order to create a quick response to emergency situations.
Habib made the call in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital while handing over relief items to the Oyo State Government, saying setting up LEMCs would take disaster risk management to the grassroots, in line with global best practices.
The call was made against the backdrop of recent incidents of flood disasters in several states in Nigeria, Oyo State inclusive, resulting in loss of lives, human displacement, loss of means of livelihood, socio-economic downturn, banditry and pre-harvest food shortage, which has increased the vulnerability of a segment of the populace.
Consequently, the Southwest Zonal Office of NEMA has handed over relief materials to victims of flood disasters in Oyo State, as approved by the Federal Government.
At the ceremony, Mustapha Habib, who was represented by the Director, Search and Rescue of NEMA, Air Commodore Edward Adedokun, revealed that the event was in consolidation of the mutual support and collaboration between NEMA and the Oyo State Government on disaster management and humanitarian service delivery.
“Based on the assessments conducted and reports made to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, His Excellency, President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR, approved the release of12,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains from the National Strategic Reserve Stock for distribution to all states of the Federation and the FCT.
“Part of the grains has been allocated to the government and people of Oyo State and is expected to give succour to the most vulnerable group of persons in the state,” he noted.
Habib further appealed to the Oyo State Government to set aside predictable funding for the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA) and establish Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in all the 33 LGAs of the state, to enable the agency to intervene timely to save lives and safeguard livelihoods whenever disasters occur.
“This is with the understanding that every disaster happens in a particular community and specific Local Government Area. Similarly, the first set of life-saving responders also come from the community. This is why it is often said that disasters are always local, and the life-saving first responders are always local too.”
For his part, the Coordinator of NEMA Southwest Zonal Office, Saheed Akiode, called for robust partnership between the agency and the Oyo State Government, commending the efforts of the state for all activities on preparedness and mitigation of flood.
In the same vein, the Director of Oyo State Emergency Management Agency, Femi Opatumbi, disclosed that the state emergency agencies were constantly being mobilised to go for sensitisation and assessment programmes in all the LGAs of the state, appreciating the complementary effort of the federal government through NEMA.
The food items handed over include bags of rice, salt, beans and maize and kegs of vegetable oil, cartons of seasoning cubes, and cartons of tomato paste.
The non-food items include pieces of nylon mats, treated mosquito nets, cartons of toilet soap, several yards of guinea brocade material, as well as men, women and children’s clothing.
PIAK
