Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has launched a reviewed National Contingency Plan 2023-2025.
Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, who launched the plan in Abuja, described the occasion as “significant milestone in our collective efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our nation.”
He added that the plan has become imperative given that “Nigeria has experienced quite a number of human and natural disasters, public health emergencies, and other unforeseen events which can occur at any moment, causing immense devastation and disruption of the functioning of society. It is our duty, as disaster managers and citizens, to ensure that we are adequately prepared to respond swiftly and efficiently to such situations.”
He appreciated the participation of stakeholders towards the review of the plan and said: “We represent a diverse range of expertise, backgrounds, and organizations, all united by a common goal: to launch and put into formal use an effective National Contingency Plan that will guide us in times of crisis.”
Furthermore, he said that, “the past months and years, countless hours of hard work, research, and collaboration have gone into the development of this plan. Experts from various sectors have contributed their knowledge and experience, drawing upon lessons learned from past disasters and incorporating the latest best practices in disaster management.”
He specially thanked UNICEF for collaborating and supporting NEMA in the process of reviewing the plan.
He also spoke on the areas covered in the plan that “NEMA in collaboration with UNICEF and other stakeholders carried out a risk analysis of Nigeria in 2021. The exercise was carried out across the geo-political zones of the country and covered different risks and hazards at the Local Government Areas (LGAs) level, including floods; epidemics; conflict and violence amongst others.”
He further said that, “The objective of the analysis was to identify, assess and rank risks with a view to understanding related vulnerabilities and capacities, while fostering effective risk management approaches among agencies addressing the same or similar threats. The outcome of the risk analysis guided the review of the National Contingency Plan.”
The Director General NEMA said the Agency will continue to focus on disaster preparedness actions including continuous revision of risks across the country, supporting States in development of contingency plans and also focus on Early Warning System to enable communities understand the risks they face and linkages to ensure they are able to prevent, prepare and respond to these risks.
