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As the 2011 elections draw nearer, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has directed that none of its technical and search and rescue officers would go on leave during the period just as 12 states have been identified by the agency as flashpoints that require more public consciousness and awareness against untoward attitudes during the elections.
The Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, gave the directive today while receiving members of Media and Information Committee on Emergency Management (MICEM) which comprises spokespersons of response agencies in Nigeria.
While calling on emergency spokespersons to cooperate with the press in providing timely, accurate and truthful information at all times to minimise speculations, Mr Sani-Sidi said they should be alert on their responsibility.
He, however, urged the electorate not to allow themselves to be used to disrupt the electoral processes, adding that the country would soon have dedicated hotlines that could be accessible to the public in reaching response agencies during emergencies.
He said just as the agency enjoyed massive support and cooperation of other agencies in all its activities, members of MICEM should also extend similar goodwill towards adequate information dissemination.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of MICEM who is also Director of Defence Information, Colonel Mohammed Yerima, commended NEMA for the success of its evacuation of Nigerians from Egypt and Libya and for timely response to distressed and displaced victims of natural disasters and communal clashes in recent times.
The chairman, Media and Information Committee on Emergency Management (MICEM) in Nigeria comprising members from NEMA, Defence, Police, Federal Road Safety, Civil Defence Corps, Federal Fire Service and other security outfits, said the association has identified major flashpoints that have witnessed heated and tensed political environment.
“The states have attracted more headlines and public attention to acrimonious activities among the political actors and parties. Two states were identified by MICEM from each geopolitical zone that required more public consciousness and awareness for orderliness during forthcoming elections. They are Katsina and Kano States in the North-West, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom States in South-South, Oyo and Ogun States in South-west, Nasarawa and Benue States in North-Central, Borno and Gombe in the North-East and Ebonyi and Anambra in the South-East,” he said.