The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it has concluded plans to equip and provide incentives to volunteers, local divers, and emergency marshals across the six area councils of the territory to enable them effectively and efficiently respond to emergencies.
Coordinator of AMMC, Chief Felix Obuah made this disclosure during the third quarter activation meeting and waste management, flood disaster mitigation, and response workshop, organized by the FCT- Emergency Management Department (FEMD).
Obuah said that there is a need for volunteers, local divers, and emergency responders in the communities across the six area councils, to be mobilised to efficiently and effectively carry out their jobs in case of any disaster.
According to him, “I felt that there is a need for these volunteers to be taken care of, because if they are well taken care of, they will be more motivated to respond to emergencies.
They have requested for life jackets among other things, which should be readily available.”
Obuah promised that by the next activation meeting, the present inadequacies would no longer be a challenge, as the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is poised to tackle them.
He explained that the Minister is committed to not just the city centre, but also the rural areas to ensure that no one is left behind.
Speaking earlier, the acting Director-General, FEMD, Florence Wenegieme, explained that the main objective of the meeting is for the message and information garnered from the workshop to be taken to the grassroots by the Local Emergency Committee (LEC) from the six area councils.
Wenegieme said the essence of the lecture on waste management is to sensitise residents to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse, which is one of the major causes of flooding in the capital city.
In a paper presentation titled “Emergency Response”, the pioneer DG of FEMD, Dr. Abbas Idriss, emphasized the need for effective response to disasters; adding that collaboration between all relevant stakeholders is vital in communicating uniform information to the public.
“We don’t have to wait until things get out of hand before we respond if you don’t respond in time, you have not responded,” he reiterated.
He further explained that due to Climate Change, there is a need for an up-to-date response plan due to the recent dynamism of disaster in line with current realities.