From CHARLES ONYEKWERE, Enugu
Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar has visited the victims of a tanker explosion in hospitals within Enugu metropolis.
Umar led top management staff of the agency from Abuja to visit the victims.
At the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu, the director-general interacted with the victims while asking of their general well-being and welfare.
“I pray that God gives you all quick recovery and healing. I am sure you will soon rejoin your families,” she said.
According to her, “I bring you the best wishes and recovery prayer of President Bola Tinubu, NEMA, and millions of Nigerians who feel saddened about the unfortunate incident.”
Earlier, Umar said the agency had provided food and non-food items as relief in order to cushion the effect of the incident on the families of the victims.
She added that the items had been handed over to Enugu State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, for distribution.
The director-general said the relief food items include 200 bags of rice, cartons of seasoning, 20 cartons of tomatoes paste (25kg), 200 cartons of spaghetti and 20 cartons of vegetable oil (5ltr x 4), among others.
She noted that non-food items are volumes of medicaments and medical consumables meant for those affected by the incident, following the assessment done by NEMA officials on ground.
Umar appreciated the state government, Enugu State Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, police, NSCDC, Red Cross, doctors and other health workers, as well as other first responders that provided vital rescue and help to the victims.
“It is the collective responsibility of all tiers of government (i.e. federal, state and local governments) to provide support to disaster victims.
“Hence, NEMA is complementing the efforts of the state government by providing relief assistance to the affected persons,” she added.
The director-general noted that the rising cases of tanker explosion across the country is not only devastating, but also a clog in the wheel of socio-economic progress and development of communities.
