In a renewed bid to avert disasters caused by floods across the country, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, has sought a retightening of existing partnership with the Nigeria Air Force, (NAF), in the area of disaster management.
Leading a delegation to the office of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, at the NAF headquarters in Abuja yesterday, the DG said recent events unflooding has well as the weather forecast has made it imperative for both agencies to re-strengthen their existing partnership towards safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, (PRO), of the agency, Ezekiel Manzo, the DG noted that in view of increasing occurrence of disasters including the weather forecast which may affect some parts of the country this year, “The time has come when NEMA will require the support of the Nigerian Air Force in the areas of search and rescue and transportation of personnel, equipment and other life-saving relief items.
“With the current growing rate of occurrence and increasing level of severity of disasters in Nigeria and across the world, it has become necessary for NEMA to strengthen its partnership with the Nigerian Air Force to save lives in times of emergency and to promote disaster risk reduction.”
Ahmed also revealed that the present situation of the rainy season has begun to confirm the earlier predicted floods as evidence in the havoc it wrecked in some states including the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja.
He reaffirmed confidence in the existing partnership between the two organizations saying “NEMA and the Nigeria air force have conducted series of life saving simulation exercises to test the level of preparedness of emergency response and develop a common language of communication to foster better understanding of life saving roles and responsibilities of frontline actors in times of emergency.
The DG assured that NEMA will always support the NAF as a critical partner especially in the area of search and rescue operations, medical evacuation and the air drop of relief materials to inaccessible locations during emergencies.
Responding, NAF;s Abubakar said his agency will continue to discharge its responsibilities in the areas of providing supports to civil authorities whenever is required.
Recalling the participation of NEMA and the Nigerian Air force in some of past joint simulation training exercises on emergency response, he said NAF will avail its 22 Disaster Response Units located across the country for deployment to support disaster management activities of NEMA in furtherance to the existing collaboration between the two organizations.
He therefore, assured the sustenance and further strengthening of the existing partnership between the Nigerian Air force and NEMA.
