Gabriel Enenche —

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agencies yesterday agreed to collaborate on strengthening disaster risk management in the country. This was announced when head of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Ekiti and Kaduna State counterparts, visited the Director-General of NEMA, Mr Habib Ahmed, in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

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Ahmed said that to have better coordination of activities, it is wise for all the emergency management agencies to work in synergy. He added that the agencies had decided to organise a conference to deliberate on how to better their collaboration, understanding, training and mutual operations of their activities.

“With this visit, the relationship between NEMA and SEMAs will wax stronger, he stated.

“NEMA and state emergency agencies will not just work only to take relief materials such as rice and beans to the states; rather, we will be talking on developing mitigation strategies across states.

“We will be talking about states that do not have existing emergency agencies; we have local governments’ areas that do not have local Emergency Management Committees,’’ he added.

“By the grace of God, all those places that do not have this in place, will be working hand in hand to ensure those things are in place.

“We will be working hand in hand henceforth more than how it used to be before with the state emergency management agencies,” he said.

Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, Director-General, LASEMA, who spoke on behalf of the state emergency management agencies, appreciated NEMA for its support over the years.

Oke-Osanyintolu, appreciating NEMA for the role played during the collapse of the 21 storey-building in Lagos, said that state emergency agencies and NEMA would be working closely to achieve disaster risk reduction in Nigeria.

He said that in furtherance to their resolve to manage disasters effectively in the country, the agencies would hold a conference of all state emergency agencies and NEMA in Lagos in March.