The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has urged state and local governments to invest in fire and emergency management in their jurisdiction, instead of leaving the responsibility to the federal government alone.
Speaking at the unveiling of a firehouse and Metropolitan Fire Station in Abuja, Aregbesola expressed his hope that state governments would take fire service and emergencies seriously and invest in them, even if it’s just a little bit.
He also noted that before President Buhari’s administration, the Federal Fire Service only had two fire engines, but now has state-of-the-art firefighting and disaster management infrastructure.
However, Aregbesola highlighted that the service still faces challenges in curtailing large-scale fires and urged his successor to conclude the arrangement with the Nigerian Air Force to use their planes to waterbomb fires from the air.
The Controller General of the service, Abdulganiyu Jaji, said the projects would enable personnel to respond to incidents quickly and provide a shorter life-saving time for the community.
