Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has pointed to the need to rejig the operations of the state’s emergency response team for better performance and service delivery in disaster management.
The governor, during a visit to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) operational headquarters at Cappa, Oshodi, also tasked the response personnel of the agency on quality of service, saying they must raise the standards of their operations in line with international best practice.
He pledged his administration’s support to the agency in the delivery of its mandate.
“I like to commend LASEMA and its emergency workers’ performance in disaster management. But, we know there is still a lot that we can do to raise the standard and there is still a lot that is expected of us,” he said.
The governor explained the decision to visit the operational base of the agency to assess the level of response mechanism and take stock of the challenges the agency might be facing.
“We do not want to give excuses to the taxpayers. We pledge our continued support to encourage the agency to live up to expectations, because its efficiency in service delivery would be the parameter citizens would use to assess and write the agency scorecards,” said the governor.
He equally emphasised the need to embrace professionalism and empathy in the discharge of the agency’s duty, noting that disaster management required promptness and competency to minimise losses.
He tasked the emergency workers to work towards reducing their response time by half, saying the government would address the resource gap hindering the agency from taking its service to optimal level.
“LASEMA needs to escalate its level in managing emergencies. If it gets to the level where we need additional support from other agencies, such police, fire fighters, or any arm of government, we must be able to quickly analyse the situation and escalate it to another level, so that we can reduce losses to lives and property. Lagos is a centre of excellence and we must live up to billing by putting forward the best rescue operation.”
Sanwo-Olu was accompanied on the inspection by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, and other top functionaries of the state, including the secretary to the state government, Folashade Jaji; the head of service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola; the chief of staff, Tayo Ayinde, among others.
