The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed , on Tuesday, met with some state governors at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat in Abuja.
The meeting was part of efforts to guard against the 2023 flood alert predicted by the Agency.
Ahmed told reporters after the meeting that the collaboration would reduce the impacts of the flood and prevent deaths.
He also said the governors were expected to set aside funds to curb the effects of floods.
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He said: “ Disaster is local and we want them (states) to have community volunteers, local emergency management committees and emergency agencies so that as they come from bottom up, we will come from top to bottom. This way, we can meet halfway to tackle floods.
“With the partnership, what we lost last year, we believe will reduce to the barest minimum.
“The governors are willing to collaborate with us; they can see what we are trying to explain to them. A lot of them do not understand the architecture whereby when disaster hits a community, the first responder is within that local government. So, they have to have people from the bottom to handle the situation and there has to be funding and if there is funding, no matter how little it is, it will go a long way.
Anambra State government said it has already started the training 120 health workers drawn from its 21 local government areas.
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They are being trained on life-saving skills and on how to reduce maternal as well as infant mortality, especially in flood-prone areas
The meeting had NEMA representatives, governors of Kebbi, Anambra, Zamfara, Osun and Cross River states, amongst others, in attendance.
Last week, the Federal Government issued a flood alert, saying 14 states and 31 communities may witness heavy rainfall that could lead to flooding.
The states and communities identified include Plateau (Langtang and Shendam); Kano (Sumaila, Tudun Wada); Sokoto (Shagari, Goronyo and Silame); and Delta (Okwe).
Others were Kaduna (Kachia); Akwa Ibom (Upenekang); Adamawa (Mubi, Demsa, Song, Mayo-Belwa, Jimeta, and Yola); and Katsina (Katsina, Jibia, Kaita and Bindawa).
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Also listed in the flood alert were Kebbi (Wara, Yelwa and Gwandu); Zamfara (Shinkafi and Gummi); Borno (Briyel); Jigawa (Gwaram); Kwara (Jebba); Niger (Mashegu and Kontagora).
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