The director-general of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Oluwaglfemi Oke-Osanyintolu, has disclosed that the agency responded to 822 emergencies in six months.

He disclosed this at the inauguration of the Inter-Agency Technical Working Group for emergency and disaster management personnel in Lagos on Wednesday.

Mr Oke-Osanyintolu added that the agency responded to 822 emergencies from January 1 to June 30, against the 1,024 incidents it responded to from January to December 2020.

“Notable amongst these disasters were Baruwa gas explosion, Apapa-Oshodi expressway tanker explosion, Iddo tank farm fire disaster, to mention a few,” he said.

The LASEMA boss noted that the agency planned to provide the participants with workable strategies to renew their confidence in rising to any disaster challenges in Lagos.

“This meeting will also afford us an opportunity of in-depth review and plan of various major actors. Also, it will afford us to understand our collective roles in emergency-disaster prevention, preparedness, management, mitigation, response and recovery in the state,” Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said.

He recalled that the extant law that established LASEMA charged the agency to coordinate the activities of “relevant stakeholders” to provide an adequate and prompt response as well as sustain intervention on all forms of emergency in the state.

Tayo Gbamgbose-Martins, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Government Relations, explained that the participants were critical elements in the emergency system.

“LASEMA is responsible for the overall coordination of emergency management in Lagos and has been working closely with all its stakeholders in achieving this primary responsibility,” Mr Gbamgbose-Martins stated.