NEMA DG moves to restructure agency for effective performance

THE Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Maihaja, says plans are underway to restructure and reposition the agency for effective performance to a world class standard.

Maihaja made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a three-day workshop on repositioning, strengthening and re-orientation for Zonal Coordinators, Head of Operation Offices and others.

According to Maihaja, new strategies would be put in the operations of the agency to make it first class in order to be a pacesetter to other African nations.

Maihaja said that the workshop was aimed at empowering participants to appreciate the enormity of responsibilities saddled on all staff for effective and efficient service delivery.

He said that the workshop would also provide a forum for interaction and exchange of valuable ideas between the heads of Zonal and Operational offices and the management team for cordial and mutual understanding of issues.

He said that the workshop further aims at setting the management agenda for the attainment of the fundamental roles of the Zonal and Operational offices.

“We have identified some gaps, some shortcomings so we have to organise this workshop to share our understanding to review, to enforce and re-position the agency.

“In a way that we can better much operate efficiently, effectively and try to gear up ourselves towards a world-class agency.

“We felt we need to re-organise NEMA in a way and manner that would be more efficient and one of the steps taken is this workshop, getting people together to get the right information.

“The people here are the head of operation offices and the heads of zonal offices, who are the engine room operationally of the agency who get the first-hand information.

“We tell them where we are going and then we sit down to strengthen our strategies to have a better NEMA; a NEMA that is world class that we envisage in the nearest future,’’ Maihaja said.

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Maihaja said that as part of its restructuring strategies, the agency was planning to have a response and recovery department in line with the best world practices.

He explained that the new department would encompass search, rescue and recovery as a result of any emergency as against the current search and rescue department.

The director-general said that so many other steps would be incorporated in the re-organisation and restructuring of the agency.

Maihaja said that in recent times, NEMA has adopted a different approach of responding to emergencies and how they provide relief across the country.

He explained that the agency has strengthened its level of preparedness, response time has been timely and efforts are starting to yield results.

Mr Bashir Garba, NEMA North East Zonal Coordinator and participant of the workshop, said that the workshop was apt as it would further boost their response capacities in their respective Zonal and Operation offices.

“After this workshop, we would come out better equipped, better prepared to tackle disaster in our respective zones and operational offices.

“With regards to the North East Zone, the challenges we usually encounter is crowd control at the evacuation or emergency centres.

“However, the people have been sensitised to avoid places of emergencies where they have non-specific role to play,’’ Garba said.