By Ogechi Okorie
Abuja – A non-governmental organisation under the auspices of Concerned Citizens for Good Governance” has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari saying that the sacking of the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engr. Mustapha Maihaja as would not have come at a better time than now..
The group said the coming on stream of AVM Muhammadu Alhaji (rtd) as the
substantive Director General would rejig the activities of the agency.
Disclosing this on Monday in statement, the President of the group, Mr. Adamu Bawa said Maihaja’s sack was in the best interest of the country, noting that the high handedness and lack of capacity displayed by the DG affected disaster management and emergency response in the country.
The statement added that series of controversies and allegations of
corrupt practices levelled against him and some staff of the
agency was a source of concern to Nigerians.
The statement said, “In 2018, the House of Representatives accused him
of mismanaging resources as well as creating inefficiency that led to the
setting up of a committee to investigate the release of N5.9 billion Food
Intervention in the North-east, also the N3.1 billion Food Intervention in the
same region and the release of N1.6 billion for Libyan returnees.”
It said that “the release of N1.6 billion Flood Intervention for 16
states and donation of 6,779 metric tons of rice by the Chinese
Government were allegations made under Maihaja.”
The statement said that, “government owned Air Ambulance was grounded for
many years without repairs and Civil Servants of the Agency have at
various times shut down operations, embarked on strikes and protests in
confrontation of his inability to handle their personnel
welfare and agency’s assets” the statement read.
It further stated that at a time when all Ministries, Departments and Agencies
are synergizing towards effective COVID19 response, NEMA under Maihaja as a
strategic agency was sabotaging effective delivery of palliatives via
insubordination, slow delivery of food items to states and operating in
isolation to cover up his corrupt operations.
The NGO president while congratulating the new DG AVM Muhammedu Alhaji Muhammed
tasked him to be proactive in dealing with issues bordering disaster management
and emergency response especially at this critical time when the entire world
is in an emergency state.
