In the spirit of African brotherhood, the National Emergency Management Agency has delivered relief materials approved by the Federal Government to the government of the Republic of Congo to assist the 14,000 persons displaced by the recent ammunition depot explosions in Brazzaville.
The Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, who delivered the items on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria in Brazzaville, said the gesture was in solidarity with the Congolese government to support the local efforts in addressing the humanitarian challenges triggered by the disaster.
Sidi conveyed the condolence of President Goodluck Jonathan to the country, noting the courage and forthrightness with which the Congolese have been able to handle the situation.
He said with the successful handling of the initial emergency challenges and the 14,000 Internally Displaced Persons camped in different parts of the country, Nigeria’s relief items would provide succour in meeting some of the basic needs of the people in the camps.
Sidi assured the Congolese of the commitment of the Nigerian Government to support the Congolese authorities in addressing the challenges, particularly in the areas of sharing ideas on the best practices in the management of the disaster.
‘Disasters are not limited to any one country or region. They hit both the developed and developing countries alike’, he noted.
Responding, the Congolese Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action, Mrs. Emilienne Raoul, who received the items on behalf of the government and the victims, thanked the Nigerian government for the kind gesture.
She conveyed the goodwill of the Congolese President, Dennis Sassou Nguesso, to Jonathan and promised that the relief would be distributed to the IDPs accordingly.
The items delivered were food items, toiletries, beddings, clothings, medicaments and assorted household materials.
It will be recalled that on March 4, 2012, there was explosion at the ammunition depot in Brazzaville in which about 200 lives were reported lost and 14,000 displaced.
Immediately after the incidence, Jonathan sent a condolence message to the government and people of Congo.
