The Kaduna State Government has inaugurated Local Emergency Committees (LEMC) to manage disasters across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Inaugurating the committee in Kaduna on Wednesday, Gov. Nasir El-Ruffin said the committee would mitigate emergencies through actions that would reduce exposure to hazardous events.
He said this would be achieved through educating owners of business outfits and members of public on simple measures they could take to reduce losses and injuries in times of disasters.
Represented by Hafsat Baba, Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, he explained that the LEMCs would prepare the communities to be ready to face emerging threats that had not been mitigated.
“Emergencies often evolve rapidly and become too complex for effective improvisation, and as a government, we can successfully discharge emergency management responsibilities only by taking certain actions before hand.
“It is my hope that inaugurating the LEMCs will increase response to disaster management, and aid risk reduction through early warning and early response,’’ he explained.
He called on members to work tirelessly to manage disasters and reduce risks in communities and the state at large.
Ealier in his opening remarks, Muhammed Mukaddas, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA), said the LEMCs are strategically structured to strengthen communities to take ownership of their disaster management systems.
He said local communities were the weakest link in disaster management, hence the need to empower the LEMCs to be resilient to disasters.
Mukaddas said the agency and its non-governmental partners would embark on series of advocacy visits, trainings, simulations and other strategies aimed at achieving community participation in disaster management.
Temilola Fashola, the Country Director, Christian Aid, said the role communities played were central to ensuring effective disaster management, adding that without a structured LEMC, progress could not be achieved.
He said inauguration of the LEMC was an attestation of commitment of the state government to ensuring the effectiveness of disaster management.
He assured that Christian Aid remained committed to ensuring the LEMC’s were sustained across the 23 LGAs.
“We want to ensure that the effect of the LEMCs are felt, so that there will be no reason for any citizen of Kaduna to die as a result of disaster,” he said.
