The Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, has decried delay by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in responding to emergency situations in the state.
The state chairman of the agency, Sani Dododo, made this remark at a one-day interactive meeting of relevant stakeholders in disaster management organised by NEMA in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.
He lamented that oftentimes when disaster situations occurred, the response of NEMA was always late, especially to the victims of disaster in the state.
READ ALSO: Sokoto govt restates commitment to improve healthcare services
“The response from NEMA to victims has always been late; the intervention most of the time, comes very late,” he said.
Mr Dododo advised the agency to go back to its drawing board and come up with a good plan to expedite action on its response at any time the need arose.
The chairman explained that the state government under Governor Atiku Bagudu, had released N300 million for relief materials to the victims of disaster from the inception to date.
In his remarks, the NEMA Head of Sokoto Zonal Operations Office, Sulaiman Muhammad, said the aim of the meeting was to bring humanitarian actors in the state together to provide synergy for effective and timely response to disasters.
Muhammad, who was represented by an official of the agency, Abubakar Yusuf, said that no organisation was fully equipped and competent enough to handle any form of disaster alone.
According to him, there is the need to coordinate different response organisations for effective interventions.
“It is in line with this that a robust coordination system was put in place by NEMA at the national level, where operators are expected to interact to achieve effective response and delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said.
He lauded the state government for the special support the NEMA office had been receiving from the state.
Muhammad expressed optimism that the meeting would come up with meaningful strategies and suggestions on how to cope with the challenges of disaster management in the state.
NAN
