Nigeria: NEMA promotes early warning system against disaster
Nema press release
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is promoting the establishment of an effective early warning system through scientific and technical instruments in Nigeria to forecast hazards and issue alerts before any disaster like floods and earthquake occur.
The Director General of the agency, AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida (rtd) disclosed this at an induction for newly recruited officers in the agency. He said that with effective collaboration with other stakeholders, early warnings can be provided on potentials or actual disaster like flood, earthquakes, erosion to enable individuals or communities threatened by such hazards to act in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner so as to reduce the possibility personal injury, loss of life and damage to property.
Audu-Bida said efficient and effective management could only be achieved in the country with the support and cooperation of all stakeholders and every Nigerian. He said there was no way NEMA could deliver it mandates on disaster management in isolation. However, it was doing everything possible to bring together and coordinate the stakeholders to achieve the desired goal.
The Director said that the agency in collaborations with relevant ministries and agencies are working to ensure the workability of a system that would be useful for effective and timely dissemination of warning information to protect lives of the people.
He said the recent recruitment in the agency was aimed at strengthening the staff strength which was one of the identified areas of need in the agency as approved by its Governing Council.
He challenged the new staff to brace up in contributing towards the realization of the agency’s mandates by being committed to assigned duties and responsibilities. According to him, efforts would be made to equip newly recruited staff with the required skills and knowledge to optimize their potentials.
The DG NEMA said the recruitment of 192 new staff would strengthened the six agency’s zonal offices to intensify the efforts in taking disaster management to the grassroots.
Media contact:
Yushau A. Shuaib
Head of Press and Public Relations
April 8, 2009
GSM: 0803-5555-999