Niger Spends N2bn On Disaster Management

The Niger Government
says it  had spent about N2 billion on disaster management in the state in the past seven years.
The Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ibeto, who is also the Chairman of the Board of the Niger State Emergency Management (NSEMA), made the disclosure at the opening of training workshop for disaster management coordinators and community leaders in Minna.
Ibeto said that the money was used to purchase relief materials for victims of disasters, adding that 95 per cent of disaster victims benefited from the gesture.
He said that the State Government had concentrated on promoting the well being and needs of its citizenry, adding that this had changed people’s perception about disaster management.
“I commend UNDP for its continuous support to sustain disaster management; we shall continue to partner with you to reduce disaster epidemics.
“I call on all participants to be attentive and be actively involved for your community to benefit from you,’’ he said.
A facilitator from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof. Godwin Nsofor, said that climate change and global warming were factors contributing to disaster outbreaks worldwide.
Nsofor said that disaster coordinators and community leaders should be knowledgeable about potential disasters around their communities.
“Poverty and illiteracy are potential disasters. Disaster coordinators should be well informed on the unforeseen circumstances to enable them response. “Coordination of disaster management is very important. It involves before, during and after the incidence.
“You should know the disasters in your community, understand the people and be fully in control of what is happening in the locality within the areas of youR jurisdiction,” he added.
The General Manager of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Mohammed Shaba, said that the workshop was aimed at sustaining the development on disaster response in the state.
He said that the state was vulnerable to natural disaster because of its large land mass.