Promises continuity, proactiveness, innovation
Newly appointed Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), Zainab Umar, has said that the agency will sustain gains achieved under her predecessor while bringing on board innovations and proactiveness in the affairs of the agency.
She stated this at a handover ceremony to officially assume duties at the agency and to bid farewell to her predecessor, Mustapha Ahmed, yesterday in Abuja.
She said “The dedication and tireless efforts of all my predecessors have laid a solid foundation upon which we will continue to build and expand our capacity and ability to effectively carry out our mandate through proactive and innovative service delivery in emergency management.
“I therefore acknowledge their respective contributions and pledge to build upon their legacies with deliberate focus, humility and determination.
“We should work together as a team with common purpose and objective to enhance our nations growth resilience to face whatever emergency challenge we may face.”
Umar assured that “Under my watch, I intend to live by example and in collaboration with our partners to set standards and parameters for our emergency management under set target.
“This include deployment of technical and human intelligence in emergency and disaster management, proactive measure to ensure early forecasting community engagement and evacuation, proactive capacity building and training in emergency response management, disaster forecasting, prevention control and early response, establishment of realtime data room, active engagement and collaboration with relevant national and international agencies, enhance staff welfare and motivation anchored on attainment of Key Performance Indicators ane the continuous monitoring and evaluation of departmental of field.
Appreciating President Bola Tinubu for the opportunity to serve, she urged her team at NEMA to work to earn the trust and confidence of of Nigerians in line with the renewed hope agenda of the President.
“I intend to consult widely with the management staff, field officers, and staff of the agency on current administrative and operational strategy with a view to improving our areas of deficiencies, It will therefore not be business as usual under my reach as every staff will be held accountable moving forward.
“There will be no room for toying with peoples lives, disasters or emergencies I therefore solicit concrete suggestions and ideas on improving the way we do things apart from improving staff welfare and motivation,” she assures.
On his part, the outgoing DG, Ahmed, congratulated the incoming DG noting that her appointment comes at a time when the services of the Agency are very critical for Nigerians.
He said “We are in a period during which the disaster risk profile of Nigeria has become very complex.
“The situation is occasioned by insurgency, conflicts and banditry in some states coupled with nature induced disasters exacerbated by frequent occurrence of fire outbreaks, building collapse, automobile accidents and economic downturn which has widened the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index dashboard amongst most vulnerable Nigerians.
“It has become necessary for the new management of NEMA to sustain its collaboration with key partners including State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), security agencies, the United Nations and International Organizations for a time and effective service delivery.
“There is no doubt that this partners have over the years supported NEMA in the daunting task of giving succor to Nigerians in need of life saving relief assistance.
“In the same vein, it is necessary to drive the paradigm shift towards Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to build the resilience of Nigerians even in the face of the current realities of escalated disaster outlook of Nigeria.
“It is heartwarming to note that NEMA has just hit the ground running to ensure the delivery of 42,000 MT of assorted grains from the National Strategic Reserves, (NSR), of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under the directives of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“The drive for additional special interventions has to be prioritized by the management of NEMA to build upon the success of this timely intervention,” he urged.
