The Ekiti State Government (EKSG) has expressed gratitude over the decision of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to support the needy and victims of disaster in the South-West state.
Describing it as “a significant relief” to its continuous effort to cushion the adverse effect of natural and man-made tragedies on the people, the state Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi said the support would go a long way in ameliorating the condition of the affected families.
A statement issued by NIMASA and made available to Maritime Bits quoted Egbeyemi saying this in the state capital, Ado-Ekiti when he received humanitarian materials provided by NIMASA for persons suffering severe economic conditions, especially Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Recalling some recent incidents in the state, including communal clashes, flooding and fire disasters, which resulted in the displacement of communities, Egbeyemi said: “The state government had intervened in some areas within its capacity, but due to inadequate resources, there are still some affected victims that have not been attended to.
“It is on this note that the state government is finding this kind gesture worthy because the provision of these items will go a very long way to cushion the effect of these disasters on the victims.”
NIMASA Director, Administration and Human Resources, Mrs. Ronke Thomas who represented the Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said the economic relief and empowerment gesture was a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative that was expanded to cover the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Her words: “Dr. Jamoh is doing something that had not been done to this magnitude before. We are on a mission to reach out and help people in the face of daunting socio-economic circumstances, often outstripping government’s official planning and requiring extra-governmental mitigation measures and intervention from organisations and individuals.
“Principally, we want to empathise with Nigerians going through difficult conditions and raise awareness about the dire conditions of less privileged citizens, as well as draw society’s attention – at the governmental, organisational, and individual levels – to the need to continually lend the underprivileged a helping hand.”
According to her, this event is a strategic demonstration of the agency’s commitment to a better life for all Nigerians. We are here to provide succour to the distressed, strengthen the weak, and encourage the discouraged. We want all to feel at home, especially those who have been physically displaced or emotionally hurt by natural and man-made disasters.
She also explained that the agency had integrated support for the less privileged and capacity building for citizens into a national CSR strategy regularly implemented according to the availability of resources.
The Director called on privileged Nigerians to take a cue from NIMASA and “get involved in activities that support the lives of the underprivileged”.
According to the statement, the items donated by the agency include food stuff, household items, educational materials, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) support tools to ameliorate the plight of the less privileged.Others are computers, books, sewing machines, grinding machines, welding machines, hair clippers and barbing accessories, vulcanising machines, motorbikes, and tricycles.
