Zubaida Umar

05/08/2026

Ahead of the official launch of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative, I hosted my colleagues, the heads of Nigerian Meteorological Agency-NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike; Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed; Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida; and National Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA), Dr. Matthew Adepoju; to a high-level strategic meeting, at our Headquarters, earlier today.

Today’s meeting demonstrates our collective commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s disaster risk management architecture through effective inter-agency collaboration, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s national security and development agenda.

Through EW4All, we will build a stronger, more coordinated national early warning system that reaches every person, leaves no one behind, and ultimately saves lives.

04/08/2026

Today, we held the inaugural meeting of the 2026 National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), marking the activation of the centre as a strategic platform for multi-agency coordination, information sharing, and resource mobilization.

NEOC is designed to bring together the expertise, capacities, and mandates of all relevant stakeholders to ensure a coordinated, timely, and effective national response.

This period of heightened flood risk, together with other natural and human-induced hazards, demands that we strive to achieve a coordinated national emergency management system across the country.

Working together, united in purpose, we can significantly reduce the impact of disasters on our communities and strengthen Nigeria's resilience to future emergencies.

04/08/2026

The rainy season is intensifying, and with it, the risk of flooding in coastal, riparian, and riverine communities. Reach out to your loved ones in these areas, urge them to evacuate early, and remind them to stay tuned to updates from local authorities.

Acting early isn't about fear; it's about staying alive.

31/07/2026

I had the pleasure of receiving a delegation from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), led by Mr. Jumpei Takami, at our agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

As an agency which set out to leverage space-based technology to strengthen disaster risk management and emergency response across Nigeria, we are encouraged by the progress made on the UNOOSA Digital Twin Project, now being piloted in Lagos State.

The infrastructure, when completed and operational, will complement our efforts in providing critical data for timely forecasting, real-time monitoring of disaster-prone areas, identification of safe evacuation routes and broader resilience-building.

27/07/2026

NEMA Coordinates Response to Building Collapse in Amaokpala, Anambra State

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has coordinated the emergency response to the collapse of a building at Amaokpala in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident, which involved buildings reportedly occupied mainly by students of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, prompted the immediate deployment of NEMA's Enugu Operations Office to coordinate search and rescue efforts.

NEMA is working in collaboration with the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Nigeria Police Force, the Anambra State Fire Service, members of Nigerian Red Cross Society and construction companies to rescue trapped victims and manage the emergency.

As of 12:43 p.m., one female victim was confirmed dead beneath the rubble, while search and rescue operations remained ongoing to locate and evacuate other possible trapped occupants.

The Head of NEMA Enugu Operations Office, Mrs. Priscilla Madukwe, appealed to members of the public, the media, and bystanders to remain calm and avoid obstructing the rescue operation. She assured the public that all responding agencies are working tirelessly and deploying every available resource to rescue affected persons and ensure effective incident management.

NEMA will continue to provide updates as the search and rescue operation progresses.

27th July, 2026

18/07/2026

Flooding doesn’t just happen. It’s often caused by the choices we make every day. Houses on waterways, refuse in gutters, blocked drains. When we all commit to avoiding these habits, we protect not just our homes, but our whole community.

14/07/2026

At the Humanitarian Transition Workshop organized by Fed Min of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, in collaboration with United Nations OCHA Nigeria, I restated our agency’s commitment to a national humanitarian architecture that is sustainable, nationally led, and responsive to the needs of our people.

As the international humanitarian system gradually transitions towards greater national ownership, we must view this not as an end to partnerships, but as an opportunity to build stronger national institutions and systems capable of leading and coordinating humanitarian action effectively.

For NEMA, this transition aligns with our statutory mandate to coordinate disaster management across the country. We recognise that effective humanitarian action requires strong institutions, reliable data, anticipatory action, efficient coordination mechanisms, sustainable financing, and meaningful collaboration across all levels of government and with our partners.

Together, we can develop a realistic and implementable people-centred transition framework that reflects Nigeria's context while upholding our collective commitment to protecting lives, reducing vulnerabilities and leaving no one behind.

I wish to commend the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction under the leadership of Dr. Bernard Doro, and the UNOCHA office in Abuja for this timely initiative.

14/07/2026

13/07/2026

I received the management team of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, led by their Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, who were on a courtesy visit to our agency’s headquarters earlier today.

At the meeting, we reaffirmed our commitment to scaling up existing collaboration with the University’s Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies.

Such partnership with academic institutions is crucial in strengthening evidence-based disaster management, advancing science and innovation, and building national resilience.

It was also a particularly gratifying moment for me, as a proud alumna of this great institution, to receive the university team's commendation on the progress NEMA has made under my leadership.

10/07/2026

Earlier today, I paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, at the Army Headquarters, during which we explored avenues of collaboration for enhanced disaster preparedness and response, and broader emergency management in Nigeria.

The HQ Nigerian Army has been a dependable partner whose engineering assets, logistical resources, Disaster Response Units (DRUs), and personnel have continued to play crucial roles in search and rescue operations, evacuation of affected communities, and humanitarian interventions during disasters.

Over the years, our agency’s partnership with the Army has been deepened through regular joint training programmes, simulation exercises, information sharing, and coordinated operations, and we remain firmly committed to redoubling our joint efforts in protecting lives, livelihoods, and public infrastructure.

Today's visit forms part of our ongoing strategic engagements with key stakeholders aimed at strengthening national preparedness and building a more coordinated and effective disaster management system for our country.