The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has delivered relief materials to residents affected by recent flooding in parts of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The intervention followed the activation of a technical team by the Director General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, to assess the situation and strengthen ongoing response efforts in the affected communities.
The team, led by the Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Bature Usman, inspected some of the affected areas after arriving in Port Harcourt before delivering relief items approved by the agency.
Presenting the materials to the Rivers State Government during a courtesy visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, Usman conveyed the concern and sympathy of the NEMA Director General to the government and people of the state.
He said the deployment was aimed at providing technical support and strengthening coordination among agencies responding to the disaster.
“We are here to provide the necessary coordination and technical support to complement the ongoing response efforts of the Rivers State Government and other relevant stakeholders,” Usman said.
He explained that the relief materials were provided by the Federal Government through NEMA to support the state government in alleviating the hardship faced by residents affected by the flooding.
“These relief items are provided by the Federal Government through NEMA to complement the efforts of the Rivers State Government in alleviating the condition of the affected persons,” he said.
Usman said NEMA remained committed to working with state governments and other stakeholders to ensure timely assistance to communities affected by disasters.
Receiving the NEMA team on behalf of the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, expressed appreciation to the agency for its intervention.
“We appreciate NEMA for this timely intervention and support to the state,” Odu said.
She assured the agency that the relief materials would be properly distributed to ensure that they reached the intended beneficiaries.
“We assure you that these relief items will be judiciously distributed to the affected persons to ensure that the intervention reaches the intended beneficiaries,” she said.
The relief materials were subsequently handed over to the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr Inyingi Brown, who inspected the items at the warehouse in Port Harcourt.
The NEMA team included the Director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Abbani Imam Garki; Acting Director, NEMA South-South Directorate, Mr Eric Ebhodaghe; and Head of NEMA Port Harcourt Operations Office, Mr Chidi Ogundu.
The agency said the intervention was part of its continued collaboration with state governments and other stakeholders to strengthen coordinated disaster response and provide timely humanitarian assistance to communities affected by emergencies.