Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), claimed that the agency is now better equipped to offer a prompt and well-coordinated response to complex emergencies across the nation.
He made this statement over the weekend in Abuja at the conclusion of an Incident Command System and Emergency Coordination Centre (ICS/ECC) training for staff members of NEMA and State Emergency Management Agencies, which was organised by the United States of America Forest Service (USFS) with funding from USAID.
He said “the series of training programs by the United States of America Forest Service as coordinated by USAID have no doubt advanced NEMA expectations of deploying Incident Command System for effective disaster response in Nigeria.
“I make bold to say that, we are now in a better position to provide a well-coordinated and timely response to complex emergencies to save lives and enable speedy recovery.
The Director General NEMA further said that “the ICS will equally enable us to deploy and utilize our human and material assets in a more efficient manner during sudden onset emergencies.”
While praising the training's instructors, he said that the long-standing Nigeria-USA collaboration has continued to have beneficial effects and praised the US Embassy employees for fostering the partnership.
He commended the attendees on completing the programme successfully and asked them to apply what they learned to better catastrophe management for the good of everybody.
The training modules were created to fulfil specific objectives to further increase capacities for effective coordination and exploitation of resources in disaster management, according to the lead facilitator, Mr. Scott Dehnisch of the USFS. He also expressed optimism for the continued success of the NEMA and USFS cooperation.
Malam Musa Zakari, Director Human Resource Management, NEMA, who also took part in the training, described it as highly thorough and addressing important components of resource management and command in the handling of complex incidents and circumstances.
Idris Garba Abbas, the director general of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, and Muhammad Muazu Mukaddas, the executive secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, were two of the other speakers. They both thanked NEMA for making it possible for SEMAs to participate in the training and praised the resource people and the USA for their contributions to the strengthening of disaster management in the nation.