By Fatima Saka
Director General of the National Emergency Management Commission, Mustapha Habib Ahmed has raised an alarm of the Agency being overstretched considering the effect of flood disasters in many areas across the country.
The Director General made this assertion in his explanation to the committee on special duties during the ongoing 2023 budget defence, on Monday in Abuja.
Adding to that, he said that the state governments are not playing their roles in disaster management and leave the whole duties to the agency, according to lay down rules any disaster with a fraternity of more than 10 is termed as catastrophic.
The chairman committee on special duties Senator Yusuf Yusuf pointed out that the agency does not have the capacity to cater for the volume of disasters bedeviling the country as at today due to the effect of climate change.
The committee proposed to the agency that it is best if the agency is directly under the presidency because of the nature and the urgency interventions required.
The DG in his response while noting the shortfall of state governors responses said that most states in Nigeria do not have state emergency management Commission for immediate and closer interventions to affected communities calling on state governors to raise their responsibilities.
The DG while speaking on the challenges of the agency also called on government and stakeholders for urgent agricultural intervention as a measure to mitigate against impending problems of food security in the coming years.