THE Controller-General, Federal Fire Service, Mr. Olusegun Okebiorun, has identified lack of funding and ineffective manpower as the factors responsible for poor service delivery among the personnel of the agency in the discharge of their duties to the public.

In addition to these problems, the controller-general also listed shortages in the number of fire stations, lack of functional fire-fighting and rescue appliances, poor remuneration and other welfare package as some of the challenges facing the staff of the agency.

Speaking during the 2010 Conference of the State Directors of Fire Service and the Controller- General in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital on Tuesday, Okebiorun noted that for vision 20-20-20 of the Federal Government to be accomplished, safety of lives and property must be guaranteed.

He explained that Nigeria as a country had lived without taking cognizance of the minor but daily emergencies, which when summed up together could be regarded as a national emergency, noting that fire was the most frequent emergency with the attendant loss of lives and property in Nigeria.