Environment
THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has inspected buildings and installations destroyed by the April 22 windstorm in the University of Calabar.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Florence Obi, conducted the NEMA team round the affected buildings on campus on Saturday in Calabar.
The affected buildings include; the Medical College, Post Graduate School, Faculty of Education, Printing Press, Senate Chambers, open pavilion and Department of Medical Laboratory.
Others are the Sen. Godswill Akpabio Engineering Lecture Theater, telecommunication mast, the Isolation Centre, electrical and solar installations, the Vice Chancellor’s office, the male and females hostels among others.
Speaking after the tour, the South South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Godwin Tepikor, sympathized with the University over the unfortunate incident.
“We are here at the instance of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency office that informed us about the disaster in UNICAL.
“Our responsibility is to do an assessment; we have gone round the University and we have seen the level of damage in the University.
“We are going to compile our report and send to our headquarters in Abuja. We should be hopeful that something will be done about this assessment we just did,” he said.
Earlier, the VC told the NEMA team that the Printing Press was badly affected by the windstorm.
She lamented that the University had equipped the Printing Press with modern facilities worth millions of Naira with a view to operate as a commercial centre before the destruction.
“The equipment were all destroyed including printed materials. This has affected us greatly as a University.
“Because of the urgency to protect the equipment in the Printing Press, we had to start some remedial work because Calabar is in a rain zone and we don’t want to take more chances for our equipment to be further destroyed.
“I am happy that NEMA has responded by coming for an on the spot assessment of the facilities that were destroyed.
“Again, I want to appeal to the Ministry of Niger Delta, Niger Delta Development Commission, Presidential Committee on Disaster Management, Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Alumni and others to come to our aid.
“The destruction was so huge that we really need relevant government agencies, corporate organisations and well meaning Nigerians to come and support us,” she said.
The VC lamented that the University’s Isolation Centre that was newly inaugurated was badly affected and all the beds and equipment destroyed. (NAN)
– MAY 01, 2021 @ 14:54 GMT /
Tags: installations in UNICAL Windstorm: NEMA inspect destroyed buildings
