Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency to improve disaster preparedness and response in the state.
Governor Alia stated this on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Riverside, Wadata in Makurdi, during the grand finale of the Full-Scale Flood Disaster Response Simulation Exercise organized by NEMA.
Represented by his Deputy, Barrister Sam Ode, Governor Alia described the exercise as an opportunity to test response systems, identify gaps and deepen inter-agency collaboration in water rescue and evacuation.
The Governor also appealed to the NEMA Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, to fulfil her commitment to establishing a Rehabilitation Scheme for Persons Impacted by Conflicts, RSPIC, in Benue. He said the scheme will help restore livelihoods, rebuild communities and facilitate the return of displaced persons to their ancestral homes.
Earlier, the NEMA Director-General, represented by the Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore B A Usman, said the exercise code-named “UWAR UMA”, meaning Saving Lives in Tiv, was designed to test flood preparedness, early warning, evacuation and coordination among agencies.
She noted that Benue’s vulnerability to flooding due to its rivers and settlements along the River Benue makes sustained preparedness essential. She urged participants to document lessons from the drill and incorporate them into the state’s flood contingency plan.
The two-day exercise featured coordinated search, rescue and evacuation operations involving NEMA, Benue-SEMA, security agencies, emergency responders and humanitarian partners.(Legend News)
