Following warnings by experts that some parts of Nigeria and Gulf of Guinea may experience disaster, especially flooding this year, the National Emergency Management Agency has established volunteer corps to fight the threat.
South-West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Iyiola Akande, stated this during the mobilisation of NEMA Executive Volunteers, NEMA Emergency Management Vanguards and Non-Governmental Organisations in Lagos on Friday
Akande said the aim of the programme was to boost NEMA's capacity for effective and efficient risk reduction as well as search-and-rescue operations across the country.
He said the programme would improve the capacity of the community towards building a culture of preparedness, prevention, response and resilience to disaster.
The coordinator said to bring the programme about, NEMA had initiated various programmes to equip volunteers at the grass-roots level.
He said the Grassroots Emergency Management Volunteer Corps had attracted about 10,000 volunteers spread across 23 states in the country.
"There is therefore, the need for the volunteers to be aware of the nature and management of disasters, which would lead to better performance in disaster preparedness, mitigation advocacy and response," he said.
