The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has distributed relief materials to households in Ogui Eke community, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, following the devastation caused by flood, erosion, and windstorm earlier in the year.

 

The exercise, conducted on Friday by NEMA’s Enugu Operations Office in collaboration with the Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (ENSEMA), was aimed at alleviating the hardship of affected residents whose homes and farmlands were destroyed.

 

Speaking during the flag-off, Head of NEMA Enugu Operations Office, Mrs. Ngozi Echeazu, who represented the agency’s Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, said the intervention demonstrated the federal government’s concern for victims.

 

“The approved relief items are to cushion the effect of the sufferings of the affected population and not a replacement of their loss. We sympathise with you over this unfortunate incident. We also urge the community to always clear their waterways and ensure that houses are not constructed on water channels,” she said.

 

The distributed items included bags of rice, garri, spaghetti, vegetable oil, seasoning cubes, tomato paste, and iodised salt.

 

Community chairman, Ichie Nwanamahi Kennedy, expressed gratitude to the federal government for the intervention, describing it as timely. He assured that the community would collaborate with the Udi Local Government Urban Planning Department to prevent a recurrence.

 

“We will embark on drainage desilting and ensure that buildings are not constructed on waterways. Those already constructed will be demolished,” he stated.

 

Beneficiaries of the relief exercise also commended NEMA for what they described as a fair and transparent distribution process, with the direct handover of items to recipients being one of the highlights of the event.