…NEMA deploys more staff for intervention
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has started the distribution of relief materials to victims of the devastating floods in Maiduguri, who are now sheltering in around 36 camps.
The floods, caused by the overflow of the Alau Dam, displaced two million people across the Maiduguri metropolis and surrounding areas.
The distribution, which kicked off on Monday at Bakasi camp along Damboa Road in Maiduguri, includes essential items such as a 25kg bag of rice, a carton of pasta, and N10,000 in cash.
Addressing journalists, Zulum expressed concern that people not directly affected by the floods are entering the IDP camps, complicating the relief operations.
He noted, “We observed that it is no more sustainable to continue receiving people in the camps because many people that were not affected are tripping to the camps.”
The governor also announced plans for a comprehensive assessment of affected areas to guide future relief efforts. “So we decided to mobilise the resources and ensure that each affected victim had the relief items,
“We have also concluded arrangements that we shall do the assessment at the communities to verify the actual number of those that were affected, “he said.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency has deployed more staff from other zonal offices to assist in the intervention activities ongoing in the flooded areas in Borno state.
The NEMA spokesman, Manzo Ezekiel, who disclosed this also noted that the Director General of the agency, Zubaida Umar is also supervising the rescue and intervention activities in the state.
“The Director Director of NEMA, Zubaida Umar was here last week Tuesday, and she came here again on Sunday, and because of the overwhelming situation, she had to direct the closer offices to deploy some of their staff to beef up the intervention. We have staff from our Yola, Gombe, Jos, and Abuja offices here; we have almost about 20 staff that have been deployed to beef up our intervention.
“We also have our equipment here, we have our canoes, mobile water treatment plant, mobile intensive care unit ambulance that is on the ground. We have even life jackets for the use, of even the volunteers working with us. The Governor was very happy with what NEMA has done, and he said the agency should increase capacity to coordinate all the intervention efforts so that everything will be streamlined, that we know where there is gap or strength, and where we can take to beef up one location or the other.”
