By Nurat Uthman
The Federal Government has announced plans to decentralize emergency responses, especially in the area of mitigating fire disasters.
Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed this on Thursday night when he inspected facilities at the headquarters of the Federal Fire Service, FFS.
Dr Tunji-Ojo who was impressed by some of the state-of-the-art facilities, also hailed firefighters for the various sacrifices they have made in the cause of duty, noting that many have lost lives and limbs.
Noting that firefighting is not optional but mandatory, the minister charged officers and men of the Service to brace up to the challenges of the modern era.
He said; “We will do everything humanly possible to decentralize the emergency response system. I am happy seeing the mobile trucks. If we have more in our economic zones, our markets as first responders, it will be good. It will be very disastrous if there is fire in the markets and there is no immediate response.
“The Federal Fire Service is a very important agency of government. No matter what you build, you need to pray that you do not have problems with fire. We cannot do without you firefighters. You are indispensable. Your service is not optional. It is mandatory and it is in the service of the nation.
“We appreciate your sacrifices and they will never go unnoticed. We are grateful for what you are doing. We are indebted for your service and we can only continue to leave in the debt of gratitude. We thank you for the lives and property that you have saved and for your contributions to national development and the economy.
“Because we appreciate what you are doing, we appreciate how significant and how integral your work is, we will partner with you. We will support you and make sure by the grace of God and the support of Mr President, you will occupy your pride of place”.
Dr Tunji-Ojo who noted that President Bola Tinubu is alive to its responsibilities, also assured contractors handling various projects for the Service of prompt payment of their contractual first.
He said; “The responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property. This government is alive to its responsibility and we will provide you with firefighting appliances to do your job.
“In terms of capacity building, our training schools will no longer be dumping grounds. We will train and retrain our officers in modern techniques and equip them accordingly.
“There is need for a lot of rehabilitation of our offices. You are addressed the way you dress. We will make sure to invest in this direction.
“And to our contractors, do not worry, Renewed Hope is there. We will do everything possible to pay you”.
Earlier, Controller General of Fire CGF, Engr. Abudulganiyu Jaji said the Service has greatly improved from what it used to be barely a decade ago.
On the challenges facing the Service, the CGF listed inadequate manpower, attack on fire fighters, housing needs for personnel, firefighting infrastructural gap, budgetary constraints and lack of a befitting corporate headquarters among others.
“We are confident that you will use the might and influence of your good offices to help resolve some if not all of our issues.
“As a Service I will like to pledge our unalloyed loyalty to your office and work together to achieve your set out promises to Nigerians particularly in the area of fire and other related emergencies”, he stated.
