By Wevole Ezin
The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Betta Edu has assured the displaced persons in Niger State that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will provide a resettlement city for IDPs in Niger state as part of medium term plans to renew the hopes of over 22,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
Dr. Edu who was received by the First Lady of Niger State, Hajiya Fatima Umar Bago during her One Day Working visit to the state disclosed this.
She presented empowerment starter packs to the IDPs who passed through the N-Scale Training of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), distributed Food relief materials and Inspected UNICEF made-swift classrooms for out of school children who are IDPs at Gwada camp in Shiroro LGA of Niger state.
She expressed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s concern over the rate of out-of-school children, adding that education is crucial to wiping out poverty in the country and assured the IDPs of Federal Government interventions, inclusion into the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) and National Social Register.
During her speech, Hajiya Fatima Umar Bago commended the President’s initiative to support the state government in fighting insecurity and addressing the challenges of IDPs in the state.
Complimenting their effort, the Niger State Commissioner, for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Ahmed Suleiman hinted that they have 22,071 IDPs in the state.
According to him, insecurity has affected eleven of the twenty-five LGAs adding that many residents have stopped farming due to bandit raids.
“The state government is now faced with the challenge of delivering all essential amenities, aside from the huge funds allocated to fighting insecurity,”
“Our educational institutions, especially primary and secondary schools, which serve as provisional refuge for the displaced persons, are now overstretched and our children’s academic programmes are being disrupted”, he said.
Responding, Dr Betta Edu assured the IDPs that the Federal Government is putting in place stringent efforts to end banditry, terrorism and other forms of security challenges in the country. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent me here to see the situation on ground and start intervention as soon as possible. He assures you all that hope has come and that he will provide durable solutions to the lapses experienced in all the IDP Camps in Niger State and across the Nation.
“We have seen a couple of things, especially regarding your unsatisfactory living conditions. We are here to evaluate the situation and ensure that we intervene to change things for the better.
We are considering resettling the IDPs here because of the insecurity in their various places; we are optimistic that resettling them in Shiroro will be better for now.”
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured his commitment to provide a resettlement city where everyone who is displaced can live so that you can be safe and your children can also go back to school.” She affirmed.
