BENIN—GOVERNOR Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, said yesterday, that the state government was reforming and re-strategising its Emergency Management Agency to be more proactive in responding to emergency situations or even avert the occurrence of disasters in the state.
The governor who stated this when he received members of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Edo Operations Office, who paid him a courtesy visit, said he will strengthen the state’s fire service to make the state more proactive and effective in disaster management.
According to him, “Due to the paucity of funds and inflation, we may not be able to fully domesticate the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA Law, but we will integrate its functions and activities into the existing disaster management structure in the state. We intend to work with NEMA so that we can utilize its services to improve the state disaster management structure.”
He added that a quarterly review of NEMA’s activities in the state would be incorporated into the state’s security meetings to evaluate the state’s level of preparedness to avert disasters.
Intimating the governor on the agency’s activities in the state, the Head of Edo Operations, NEMA, Mr Monday Oviangbede, said that NEMA was into policy formulation and coordination of government and non-governmental agencies responsible for disaster management.
“In Edo State, we had observed that the state is yet to have an equipped and functional SEMA, in case of inevitable disasters and we are ready to collaborate to ensure that same is achieved. We are appealing that the state government assist us in the provision of staff quarters and a warehouse for relief materials,” he said.
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