FG to Repatriate about 300,000 Nigerian Refugees in Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr Betta Edu briefing newsmen shortly after inspecting Muna IDP Camp in Jere local government area of Borno State.
By Dauda Iliya
The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to resettle all Nigerian refugees and displaced persons due to Boko Haram insurgency in the North East region.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Betta Edu made the commitment when she paid a courtesy visit to Borno state Governor Babagana Zulum at the Government House, Maiduguri.
This is the first official engagement of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr Betta Edu outside Abuja since her inauguration about three weeks ago.
The Minister during the courtesy visit to Governor Zulum said more than eight million people have been directly and indirectly affected by the conflict in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
She assured the Governor of renewed partnership with the state government to addressing the humanitarian needs of displaced persons and refugees as well as provide durable solutions to their challenges.
Dr. Edu announced that the Federal government will set up humanitarian hubs in all the 774 local government areas of the county to support vulnerable people at the community level.
“We can reduce or mitigate the effect of this humanitarian crisis and we can reintegrate Nigerians back to their communities and into their native lands where they come from, we don’t want to have a permanent people in camps, we to move from giving them fish by teaching them how to catch the fish” Dr Edu said.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs assured that the Federal government will expand the social register to cover more than one hundred million vulnerable people, explaining that the cleaning up exercise will commence in the next few weeks.
Borno state Governor Babagana Zulum informed the Minister that about three hundred thousand refugees are yet to be repatriated in Chad, Cameroon and Niger republics.
He solicited the support of the federal government in provision of shelter, food items and adequate security at the resettled communities.
“Government of Borno state will partner with you under this critical areas, reducing poverty, supporting MSMEs, addressing challenges of internally displaced persons and last but not least repatriating refugees ” Zulum assured.
The Minister and her entourage also paid homage on the Shehu of Borno Alhaji Abubakar Garbai Elkanemi where he stressed the need to involve traditional rulers in the implementation of government policies and programmes.
At Bulumkutu rehabilitation centre, the Minister distributed food items, condiments which include 50 kilograms of rice, 50kg bags of beans, cartons of spaghetti, bags of semovita, jerry cans of cooking oil to the rescued Chibok girls and repentant insurgents.
Correspondent Dauda Iliya reports that the Minister also visited Muna IDP Camp Integrated Healthcare Centre and the Zonal office of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.
