FEMA Trains Workers On Use of Modern Equipment

By: Olalekan Jimoh

As part of its efforts to forestall any incidence of flooding in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently held its annual review and preparedness meeting with flood rescue team.

The team comprised; local divers, volunteers, vanguards, town criers and local emergency management committee.

Addressing stakeholders during the meeting, the Director-General, FEMA, Alhaji Abass Idriss, said the meeting was aimed at reviewing all their activities and at the same time train them on how to use modern equipments for rescue operations.

His words: “We want to activate them to know they always need to be on standby as we want all hands to be on deck, especially now that we are receiving serious warnings from the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET) and Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA)”.

The Director-General stated that with the early warnings released by NIMET and NIHSA, which he said are 99 % accurate, the rivers would be overflowing their banks with dams spilling over and thus, to prevent disasters in FCT, there is the need to put all strategies in place to ensure that all critical stakeholders are enlightened on the situation on ground.

“We must let them understand that we are in a critical moment, because we received warnings that water is coming to Lokoja the Kogi State capital to dislodge about nine 9 different communities, so all the people along the River Niger down to Lokoja and from Cameroun down to Markurdi, all of them are at the verge of being flooded and we at the center cannot afford to take chances”, he added.

“You cannot say because it is going to affect those at the river banks that it is not going to affect you. You could recall that few years back, we had flood up to Zuba to Kaduna road, so we can also have it anywhere, anytime and that is the reason we have to quickly call our team who are the first responders”, he emphasized.

Alhaji Idriss noted that traditional rulers are very critical stakeholders and therefore, acknowledged their support in times of emergencies.