Disasters: NACCIMA Seeks N250m Lifeline

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) is set to raise N250m for emergency relief programme to assist victims of disasters across the country.

Tagged NACCIMA Emergency Relief Programme (NACERP), the fund raising programme, which is set to be launched in Lagos and Abuja on March 14, is expected to bring intervention in three areas, post disaster medical services, psychological healing service and business advisory and soft loan for victims of disasters.

In a press statement made available to newsmen at the weekend, the Chairman, NACCIMA Emergency Relief Programme, Goodie Ibru, said that NACCIMA decided to intervene in the three areas “because most victims of disasters have psychological trauma as there is little or no immediate and long term psychological healing in terms of counselling.”

The statement read in part: “To effectively provide the three services, NACCIMA will establish a vocational centre with recreation facilities in each of the six geo-political zones of the country. Every willing victim of disaster will be trained in one vocation or the other professional areas for a period spanning from six to 12 months depending on the nature of the vocation a victim decides to learn.”

President of the association, Dr. Herbert Ajayi, said that multinational and indigenous corporations should also support the initiative to help poor and weak Nigerians through their social responsibility funds.