The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Mr Adeola Olusade, has urged the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deepen sensitization on fire to curtail fire outbreaks this dry season.
He was speaking during a visit to the Corporate headquarters of FEMA in Abuja.
According to him, if FEMA can replicate its campaign carried out against flooding, the FCT will record fewer fire outbreaks this dry season.
He expressed the deep gratitude of the FCT Administration to the Agency for its quick response to distress calls.” Your quick response during disasters gives succour to the victims, and this was aptly demonstrated during the kerosene explosion.” He said.
Noting that the services rendered by FEMA are not paid for, the Permanent Secretary assured on the Administration’s support for the Agency.
“Anytime there is a disaster, you are the first responder, and we must continue to support you. Keep the flag flying.” He said.
Earlier, the Director General of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, who stated that Mr Olusade was the first Permanent Secretary to visit FEMA, thanked him for his support for the agency.
Alhaji Idriss appealed for more office space for the agency, adding that the present office premises were inadequate.
He said:. “We work in a humanitarian sphere 24/7; we are not a revenue generating organization, but render service to humanity.” He said.
The FEMA boss added that the agency paid for its utilities like power, water, security, and waste disposal from its meagre resources and appeal for the administration to allocate more resources to the agency.
Any naira spent to prevent disaster would save more than N10m that would have spent managing disaster. It’s, therefore, that prevention is always better than cure.
