Disaster Management: NEMA Urges Inter-Agency Cooperation

The Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, has called for inter-agency cooperation and exchange of ideas between it and specialised institutions in the country.

Sani-Sidi made the call when he received a delegation from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), on a tour of the agency.

He said, “There is the need for sustained inter-agency cooperation and exchange of ideas between NEMA and its stakeholders, including specialised institutions such as NIPSS.’’

The director-general said that the collaboration among government institutions, individuals and critical stakeholders would safeguard lives, property and vital infrastructure, as well as sustain the development of the country.

“This is with the fore knowledge that disasters as we have experienced in the recent past, have potential of retarding the achievement of national development targets, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),’’ he said.

Sani-Sidi urged NIPSS to work toward the incorporation of disaster risk reduction and to bridge the humanitarian development gap.

He commended NIPSS for engaging NEMA’s personnel in its courses and capacity building programmes.

Earlier, the leader of the NIPSS delegation, Dr Ibrahim Choji, said they were in NEMA to acquaint themselves with the operations and challenges of the agency.

Choji, who is the Head, NIPSS Consult, pledged the organisation’s support for the programmes of NEMA.