Ekiti Govt To Review SEMA Law For Effective Disaster Mgt

Ekiti State government yesterday said it would holistically review the law establishing the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to accommodate Local Government Emergency Management Committee in relation to flood and fire disasters in the state.

The government said up-scaling disaster management will allow for effective management of natural disasters from the grassroots to the state level, to avert wanton destruction of property and loss of lives.

Ekiti State deputy governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, made the disclosure yesterday during the visit of the new zonal director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Said Akinyode, to her office in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The deputy governor who expressed Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s passionate interest in the issue of disaster management, explained that the proposed review was borne out of government’s interest to boost the growth and development of the safety and wellbeing of people at the grassroots in alignment with national and international best practices.

Represented by the permanent secretary in her Office, Mr Abayomi Opeyemi, she announced that Governor Oyebanji had approved funds for the sensitisation of Ekiti residents on the need to be wary of actions that could promote or lead to disasters in their domains.

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While commending the federal government’s swift response to mitigate the plights of natural disaster victims in Ekiti, the deputy governor emphasised the commitment of Governor Oyebanji’s administration to continue to partner relevant agencies in addressing all forms of disaster in the state.

“We request the support of NEMA to help educate the people on the need to prioritise their safety by avoiding dropping of refuse on drainages, erection of buildings on waterways and other carefree attitude that were capable of promoting environmental degradation, thereby leading to the destruction of lives and Property often recorded during the rainy and dry seasons due to outbreak of fire and flooding,” she said.

Earlier, the zonal director of NEMA, Mr Said Akinyode, informed the deputy governor that the federal government had re-defined its activities and added new structures both at the states and zonal levels to effectively manage natural disasters across the country.

Akinyode charged the state government to address challenges facing its fire service for optimum performance and also establish a local government emergency management committee, pointing out that incorporation of local government would help to ensure meaningful development in terms of disaster management at the grassroots.