In a bid to upscale disaster management in Ekiti State, in relation to the issues of flooding and fire, the government is planning a holistic review of the law establishing the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to accommodate the Local government Emergency Management Committee.
The government posited that the action will allow for effective address and management of natural disasters right from the grassroots to the state level, to avert wanton restriction of property and loss of lives.
The Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, revealed this on Friday, while receiving the new Zonal Director, National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Mr Said Akinyode, in her office Ado Ekiti, the state capital, through a statement signed by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje.
Revealing how passionate Governor Biodun Oyebanji was to issue of disaster management, Mrs Afuye, explained that the proposed review was borne out of government’s interest to boost the growth and development of the safety and wellbeing of people at the grassroots in alignment with national and international best practices.
The Deputy Governor, represented by the Permanent Secretary in her Office , Mr Abayomi Opeyemi, announced that Governor Oyebanji had approved funds for the sensitisation of Ekiti residents on the need to be wary of actions that could promote or lead to disasters in their domains.
While commending the Federal government’s swift response to mitigate the plights of natural disaster victims in Ekiti, the Deputy Governor, emphasized the commitment of Governor Oyebanji’s administration to continue to partner relevant agencies in addressing all forms of disaster in the state.
“We request the support of NEMA to help educate the people on the need to prioritize their safety by avoiding dropping of refuse on drainages, erection of buildings on waterways and other carefree attitude that were capable of promoting environmental degradation, thereby leading to the destruction of lives and Property often recorded during the rainy and dry seasons due to outbreak of fire and flooding.
“Let me appeal to NEMA to always double its support to the state with non-food items in order to meet the immediate needs of victims of natural disasters, especially those whose houses were affected by fire, flooding and blown-off by the wind, saying that food items being distributed could not provide the necessary succour expected by the victims from government”.
Earlier, the Zonal Director of NEMA, Mr Said Akinyode intimated the Deputy Governor that Federal government had re-defined its activities and add new structures both at the states and zonal levels for effectively manage natural disasters across the country.
Akinyode charged the state government to address challenges facing its fire service for optimum performance
and also establish local government Emergency Management Committee, pointing out that incorporation of local government would help to ensure meaningful development in terms of disasters management at the grassroots.
The NEMA Zonal Director also appealed to Ekiti State Government to give them warehouse that federal government could also store relief materials, saying that lack of storage facility often affecting their operations
“create SEMA grassroots emergency volunteer to bring about meaningful changes at the grassroots,”
While appreciating NEMA, the General Manager, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency SEMA, Mr Asaolu, observed that all the goodies enjoyed from the federal had assisted Ekiti in no small measure, especially in areas of addressing and ameliorating the effects disasters on victims in the state.
He sought for more collaboration in order to make the society peaceful and convince for the people.