The National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the partnership in tackling any possible eventuality during the forthcoming general elections and the 2023 floods.
NEMA said in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday that the partnership would ensure improved service delivery in the areas of disaster management.
It said the agreement was signed in Abuja by the Director-General, NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, and Commandant-General, NSCDC, Abubakar Audi, at the NSCDC headquarters.
Ahmed said the MoU was a step in the right direction towards the better provision of safety, security and dignity of Nigerians before, during and after a sudden onset of disasters and emergencies.
He was quoted as saying, “The partnership has become imperative as we make a renewed resolve to confront the growing complexity of disaster and the attendant humanitarian outcomes in Nigeria driven by conflicts and powered by extreme weather and climatic events.”
Ahmed said the MoU would further drive a well-coordinated and stronger partnership between both agencies “for the management of disasters, especially as we start preparation for this year’s annual floods and any possible eventuality that might arise during the upcoming general elections in Nigeria in less than a month from now.”
He described the NSCDC as a strategic partner, adding that corps had consistently provided NEMA with security and safety cordon to enable a successful lifesaving search and rescue operation.
He said, “The emergency response unit of the NSCDC has always provided a veritable opportunity for sustaining the strong mutual support and collaboration between NEMA and the NSCDC.
“Under every disaster situation, there are potential secondary hazards that require working together with the NSCDC. As we say at NEMA, ‘every disaster site is a potential crime site,’ and this underscores the need for a better relationship between NEMA and the NSCDC.”
Ahmed said NEMA had already provided a desk office for NSCDC at the agency’s headquarters for better liaison between the two organisations and considered the need to partner in building the capacity of employees of both agencies.
The statement stated that Audi described the MoU as apt and germane to the mandates of NEMA and NSCDC, for it would enhance the existing partnership and service delivery of the two agencies.
SOURCE: THE PUNCH
