In alignment with its directive to orchestrate emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response endeavors nationwide, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has convened the inaugural session of the National Emergency Coordination Forum. The gathering serves as a platform to enlighten stakeholders and deliberate on preparedness strategies concerning the 2024 flood projections.
Responding to forecasts issued by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), designating 25 states and 72 local government areas as high-risk flood zones from April to June, 33 states and 135 LGAs from July to September, and 19 states and 44 LGAs from October to November, NEMA, in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders, has formulated a comprehensive disaster preparedness and mitigation blueprint for 2024. This strategy encompasses various sectors such as Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resources, Transportation, Health, Telecommunication, and Power Generation and Distribution.
In her address to the assembly, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, the Director General of NEMA, implored all stakeholders to uphold their duties to avert loss of life and property. She reiterated NEMA’s commitment to heighten efforts in mitigating anticipated flooding and disseminating awareness among the populace.
Mrs. Umar emphasized the imperative for regular coordination meetings among stakeholders in diverse emergency sectors, stressing the primacy of preparedness and mitigation measures to effectively counter adverse climate-related scenarios anticipated this year. She underscored the importance of prompt action in tandem with early warnings to alleviate potential disaster impacts.
Furthermore, Mrs. Umar outlined recommendations derived from a two-day Experts’ Technical Meeting convened by NEMA to scrutinize the disaster management implications of seasonal climate predictions and flood outlooks. These recommendations span initiatives such as community sensitization campaigns, monitoring dam discharges, implementing regulations, constructing detention dams, and mobilizing flood-prone communities for proactive measures like waterway clearance and relocation from flood plains.
In a goodwill message, Engr. Clement Nze, the Director General of NIHSA, urged stakeholders to heed NEMA’s advisories and accord due seriousness to flood projections, advocating concerted efforts to forestall flooding and associated casualties this year. Similarly, Dr. Mohammed Babgana Bulama, the Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, pledged his agency’s support in amplifying awareness on the perils of flooding across the nation.
Additional speakers at the forum included Rear Admiral Umar Faruk, the Director of Safety at the Nigerian Navy Headquarters, and Mr. Benson Agbro, the Director of Disaster Management at the Nigerian Red Cross Society. Both conveyed messages of goodwill on behalf of their respective organizations, affirming collaborative partnerships with NEMA. The meeting concluded with deliberations and knowledge-sharing sessions aimed at charting a course for enhanced flood management nationwide.
