By Abdallah el-Kurebe, Editor
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is planning to build Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) for response to disaster situations across the country.
The Head of Media and Public Relations, Mr Sani Datti in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja quoted the Director General of NEMA, Mr Mustapha Maihaja as saying this while addressing participants at the ongoing Emergency Operations Centres’ training facilitated by the USAID in Abuja.
According to him, the experience from the response to the 2018 flood in Nigeria showed that the county required more improvement in the management of disaster situations.
“The 2018 flood in Nigeria has challenged us to improve the way we do things, though we were able to support the states through the establishment of five (5) territorial EOCs and national emergency operation centres. We are not resting on our oars, but we are forging ahead to sustain a befitting EOCs for the country. As part of the way forward, we will continue to develop the capacity of staff to ensure that all principles and practices of disaster management are institutionalised,” Maihaja said.
He appreciated the government of United States of America through USAID for partnering with NEMA in the capacity development of its staff, noting that the training had been helpful.
The DG requested USAID to sustain the partnership in supporting NEMA to evolve its programmes into global best practices and standards, adding that NEMA’s engagement with USAID started in 2016 with the Technical Advisors sent to the Agency to conduct capacity assessment of NEMA.
