Ekiti State Government is to establish Local Emergency Management Agency (LEMA) in its 16 local governments as part of efforts to ensure prompt response to natural disasters.

Mr. Kunle Olofintuyi, General Manager, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency

(SEMA), said this in Ado-Ekiti Wednesday at a one-day workshop organised for top local government officials.

Olofintuyi explained that the establishment of LEMA became necessary so as to reduce the recurrence of natural disasters in the rural areas.

He said the state government had spent more than N20 million on disaster management this year.

He said: "It is not the duty of the state government alone in disaster management, but also the local governments have major roles to play in making life bearable for the grassroots people."

Also speaking, Dare Bejide, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), lamented that all efforts to enlist the participation of the third- tier of government in the state into the management of disasters had failed.

Bejide, represented by Mr. Kole Adeyemi, the Permanent Secretary (General Administration), said all the local councils relied on the state government to provide relief for victims of disaster in their areas.

"Whereas the management of such disaster at the local level is the sole responsibility of the local government, unless where the disaster overwhelmed the resources of the council area.

"It is only on this condition that the council management can make an appeal to the state for assistance, not at the slightest occurrence of any disaster as it is done at present,'' he said.

The guest lecturer at the workshop, Dr. Femi Omotosho of the University of Ado-Ekiti, who spoke on the "The Role of Local Government in Disaster Management in Nigeria," said calamities and disasters were indisputable facts of life.

He said, "Because natural disaster only brings tears, homelessness, hunger, loss of property, it is, therefore, critical to find ways of managing it so as to reduce the suffering of the people in the local government areas.

"In view of the damaging effects of the disasters, the local government officials, as a matter of necessity, must pursue a wide range of strategies, policies, and programmes to prevent and respond to disaster situation."

Dr Olusegun Ojo, the National Director, Relief and Rehabilitation Department of

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), attributed most disasters at the grassroots to the prevailing poverty level in the rural communities.

Ojo, however, urged all the local government officials to make enabling laws to strengthen disaster management among the populace.

He said the environmental law at the grassroots was not enough for disaster management.

By Segun Adeleye

Reporter, Abeokuta

Ogun State Road Management Agency (OGROMA) has completed the Owu Township road and the Owu Ijebu, Poluga Oduduwa road, Ijebu-Ife, two major roads in Ijebu East Local Government Area.

OGROMA is involved in the construction of over 50 major roads across the state, and the impact of the agency is felt mostly in the rural areas, according to the state government. The Owu township road was constructed in fulfillment of the promise of the state governor, Gbenga Daniel, during the commissioning of another road project in the area.

The completion of the road would ease the transportation problems of residents of the area, who are mainly farmers.

Meanwhile, residents of Poluga Oduduwa area of Ijebu-Ife have commended the state government for its timely intervention in constructing the road, which had been abandoned by previous administrations.

In a related development, the chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Habib Ajayi, has commended the activities of OGROMA. Speaking with newsmen in his office, Ajayi noted with delight that the activities of OGROMA in the state have debunked the impression that second term governors do not perform. "If second term governors don't perform, the Ogun State is an exception," he stated.

The chairman, however, called the attention of the agency to other areas in the state capital where its services are need.