National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Anambra State Emergency management Agency, (SEMA) were in Anambra West LGA, ahead of the flood season, to sensitize the people on preparedness, prevention and quick response to flood disaster.
Zonal Coordinator, NEMA, Mrs. Echeazu Ngozi and her state counterpart, Dr. Paul Odenigbo led the team.
In her speech, Mrs Echeazu emphasized that the mission of NEMA all over the country was to coordinate resources towards effective prevention and efficient management of the risks of flood disasters.
According to her, NEMA embarked on the sensitization programs due to the predictions earlier made by the SCP & AFO on climate related disasters this year. She said that NEMA was working in collaboration with the SEMA to spread message to all the local governments in the state. She stressed that they had inculcated the Local Government Emergency Management Committee ( LEMC) into the program to bring the message to the LGAs and urged the council boss to form the Community Emergency Management Committees that will bring the message down to the grass-roots.
Transition Committee, chairman, Anambra West, Hon. Fidelis Nnazor in his speech, icommended the NEMA and SEMA teams for their efforts at sensitising the River-rine area. He enumerated the risks the people of the area face yearly and the wanton destruction of valuable goods, properties and farm produce. He enjoined them to find a lasting solution to the menace of flood disasters in the area.
He was optimistic that with the blue prints of the transformation agenda of the state governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, all the local governments that would be affected would not have any problem as the government had already put in a mechanism to checkmate any environmental mishap. He said that his council would work in snergy with the state government to ameliorate the suffering of the people.
In their own separate speeches, both HRH. Igwe Joseph Ajodo ( Igachi of Ukwalla Kingdom) and a community leader Dr. Paul Okolo lamented about the suffering of their people as a result of yearly flood disasters. They frowned over the harphazard method of sharing and distribution of the flood disasters palliatives in the area. According to them, the palliatives were usually shared among all the indigenes of every community effected by the flood disaster. But subsequently, SEMA started sharing only for those they see at the IDP camps. They explained that majority of the people don’t come out to stay at the IDP camps instead they stayed at home to safeguard their properties and farm produce against criminal elements.
They suggested that it would be better for NEMA and SEMA to bring the palliatives down to the Local Government Headquarters for distribution or set the IDP camps at the local areas , instead of urban centers.
While making his comment, the coordinator of Ogbaru LEMC, stated the importance of organising the flood disaster emergency Mlmanagement at the local level. He narrated how a couple, which according to him hails from Anambra West ( husband and wife) died from boat mishap at Ogbakuba River, Ogbaru Local Government Area.
In a vote of thanks, the President General of Invite – Anam, Hon. Ofodile Cyprain expressed his profound gratitude to the teams of NEMA , SEMA and LEMC for their efforts and courage to organize the sensitization programs in the area. He assured them that the Presidents General and the traditional rulers would collaborate with the local government council to continue to spread the message down to all Clcommunities in the area. He urged the NEMA team to be transparent and accountable on the sharing and distribution of the flood disasters’ palliatives.
(Extracted from Anambra West Media team report)
