By Leonard Okachie
The Abia State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Thursday, inaugurated Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) for the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to enhance disaster preparedness and response.
In a speech during the event in Umuahia, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, charged members to take their work seriously, while pledging government’s support.
The Executive Secretary of SEMA, Dr Sunday Jackson, said that the committees, with the LGA Mayors as chairmen, would serve as first responders in their respective areas.
Jackson said the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), had instructed all the states to set up LEMC, to enable them to respond promptly to disaster.
He recalled that SEMA had in September established and strengthened the capacity of LEMC members, while waiting for their inauguration to function effectively.
The SEMA boss, who emphasised the importance of decentralising emergency coordination for rapid response, promised the provision of necessary resources for effective response.
He commended Gov. Alex Otti for taking proactive measures to mitigate disaster risks.
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“The governor provided the enabling environment for us to have a seamless implementation of the inauguration.
“He has been doing everything to make sure that Abia is a disaster resilient state and I’m highly impressed by his action and all he has been doing,” Jackson said.
In a goodwill message, the Head of Operations, NEMA (Imo and Abia), Mr Nnamdi Igwe, said that LEMC inauguration was very important to assist the Federal Government in disaster management.
“Now, all emergencies shouldn’t be centered at the top, it’s also supposed to be local, where the locals have to go in for assessment.
“You are the first responders in terms of some of these disasters, so you need training to know what and what to do towards this period,” he said.
Igwe, who spoke about the earlier training on Basic First Aid by the Nigerian Red Cross Society at the event, urged other stakeholders to join hands in building the capacity of members of the committee.
In a response, Mr Celestine Nnabugwu, the Head of Service and member of the committee for Isialangwa South LGA, described the inauguration as a good development.
“It’s good that this thing is being domiciled now at the local level and I think it will go a long way in solving some emergency problems,” Nnabugwu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some emergency kits were given to the representatives of the committees in each LGA.
(NAN)
