NEMA says relationship with military is critical

Mr Mustapha Maihaja, Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), says that continuous collaboration with the military for effective and timely response to disaster in the country is of prime importance.

He said this while receiving a delegation of 23 foreign defence attaché on Tuesday in Abuja.

Maihaja stated that the agency had the responsibility of coordinating all federal apparatus to respond to either natural or man-made disasters in any part of the country.

He noted that part of its efforts to strengthen the relationship with the military, observing that the agency had a memorandum of understanding in that regard.

“The memorandum of understanding is for the deployment of Airforce pilots, engineers and crew to fly our aircraft.

“It also provides that Airforce fleet be made available to the agency for search and rescue purposes.

“We also established a marine unit earlier this year to enable swift sea operations and we are working with the Chief of Naval Staff for us to work effectively.

“The military is key in our formation and since disaster management requires swift response from all appropriate bodies, our collaboration is critical,” he said.

Earlier in his remarks, Brig.,-Gen. Undiandeye Parker, Director, Foreign Laison, Defence Intelligence Agency, noted that the delegation comprised directors of different foreign attaché and advisers deployed to the country on diplomatic mission.

Parker, who was also the leader of the team, added that the visit was meant to acquaint the attache with the operations of the agency.

“As they are all from different countries, we saw the need to make them aware of how our system works.

“It is important that you tell your story yourself so that they can understand how NEMA respond to disaster,” he added.

The foreign attaché of the 23 countries included The Gambia, Uganda, Italy, Turkey, Zambia, Angola, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Cameroon.

Others are Denmark, Brazil, Mali, Morocco, Egypt, United Kingdom, Russia, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ukraine, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.