FCTA providing support for security agencies— Perm. Sec

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it is providing support for security agencies towards addressing kidnappings, banditry, communal clashes and other complexities caused by climate change.

Mr Olusade Adesola, Permanent Secretary, FCTA, stated this at the 2021 Flood Outlook and Review of FCT Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP), organised by the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FMA) on Wednesday in Abuja.

Adesola said that in view of development like COVID-19 pandemic, kidnappings and other security challenges after the last review of the FCT flood outlook in 2017, the administration had put measures in place to address the emerging challenges.

” As an administration, we have taken steps to address these challenges such as supporting the police and other security agencies to be able to provide robust security for the territory and furthering the safer schools initiative,” he said.

The permanent secretary also said that the FCT administration had continued to provide resources to maintain critical city infrastructure such as drainages as well as lighting up dark valleys.

Adesola implored the Area Councils that were yet to constitute their emergency management committees to do so with utmost urgency.

“This is important and necessary because gaps on the part of Area Councils can undermine the strength of the FCT Emergency Response Plan,” Adesola said.

Earlier, FEMA Director-General, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, said the agency responded to 584 emergency calls on fire outbreaks in which 2029 lives were saved, while 15 lives were lost and property worth over N1 billion was salvaged.

Idriss said that the agency got 40 calls on psycho-social issues at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and all were attended to without loss of life.

He said the event was a proactive step aimed at strategising in terms of prevention, mitigation and response to flood prediction released by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency.

He also that the meeting provided an opportunity to update and strengthen the emergency preparedness and response plan clearly spelling out specific roles for all actors in various emergency situation in the FCT.

“You will agree with me that as at the time of our last review meeting in 2017, issues such as kidnappings, banditry, earth tremor and other emerging threats were not so challenging terms of complexity and frequency of occurrences.