…IDPs need our collective support – DG
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has reaffirmed commitment in rendering assistance to victims of flood and other natural disasters living in different camps spread across the six geopolitical zones.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, made this known in Kano while presenting food and other relief materials to the Kano State Government.
Dakuku, who was represented by the Deputy Director and Head of Financial Services, Mrs. Olamide Odusanya, presented the food items and other materials to the Kano State Government for onward distribution to flood victims and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
Dr. Peterside said, “This is part of the nation-wide donation of diverse forms of relief materials to people displaced as a result of the 2018 flood disaster that submerged some parts of the state and some other states across the country. This is a continuation of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has taken place in some states and is still ongoing. It is important for Kano State to be a beneficiary of the kind gesture of the agency owing to the fact that Kano State was also one of the states affected by natural disasters in 2018.”
Presenting the materials to the Kano State Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Ali Bashir Nikkel, the representative of the NIMASA DG noted that the agency would vigorously pursue the improvement of welfare of Nigerians and urged the state government to ensure the items got to the victims, and further urged the beneficiaries to use the items judiciously so that the desired goal would be achieved.
While receiving the materials on behalf of the Kano State Government, Alhaji Nikkel commended the effort of NIMASA and acknowledged the importance and timeliness of the gesture.
He said the state government was doing its best within its power to ensure the welfare and security of the IDPs.
Nikkel said, “The state government is ever grateful by this kind gesture and it will not be forgotten in a hurry. We call on other government agencies and corporate organisations to emulate the footsteps of NIMASA by coming to the aid of the state government. We call on well-meaning Nigerians also and corporate institutions to emulate NIMASA. We assure that the items donated would be judiciously distributed to the affected persons with the aim of alleviating their suffering.”
Materials donated to the Kano State Government were rice, corn, mattresses, sugar, salt, Dettol, beans, noodles, soap/detergents, sanitary pads, diapers, mats, blankets, mosquito nets, dairy foods, palm/vegetable oil, grinding machines, pumping and sewing machines, among others.
It is worthy of note that the Federal Government has consistently encouraged interested philanthropists and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to partner with it in order to adequately cater for the needs of Nigerians who are affected by one form of disaster or the other.
“It is in line with this that NIMASA is carrying out the CSR activities across the six geo-political zones in the country,” the agency noted.
