Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
No fewer than 100 households at the weekend benefitted from the federal government’s food items for internally displaced persons in Kwara State.
The food items included rice, garri, semo, spaghetti, vegetable oil and salt.
At the flag off ceremony held at the Federal Secretariat, Ilorin, the Federal Commissioner of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIDPs), Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, said that the federal government is concerned about the plights of the internally displaced persons and spare no effort to assuage their sufferings.
“What we are doing here is line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has equally supported us that something meaningful is done to assuage the succour of displaced persons.
“Today’s event is an important occasion and we have come here because we have the mandate to ensure that we have durable solutions for people of concerns,” Ahmed explained.
Aliyu, who was represented by the Deputy Director Communications and Strategy of NCRMIDPs, Mr. Tunde Oyasanya, urged the beneficiaries not to sell the items to serve the intended purpose.
He said: “The commission has committed huge sum of money to purchase these items to support you. We beg you not to sell them. This is just one of our programmes and very soon we will go into livelihood programme to empower each one of you. We do not need to be bringing food items you. We are interested in what you can do for yourselves and make money.”
For his part, Kwara State Governor, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. John Bello, described IDPs issue as a challenge to governments at all levels, saying that the administration is committed to alleviating challenges facing the internally displaced persons and other vulnerable members of the society.
“The issue of IDPs is a serious challenge to the government and the society at large. So, government is making efforts to ease the sufferings of the affected persons at all levels.
“The moment you are displaced or migrated from one place to the other, you won’t settle down well and you are likely to stretch existing facilities in your new place and that will affect the society and by extension the government,” AbdulRazaq said.
Also speaking, the NCRMIDPs’ Zonal Coordinator, North-central, Mr. Bashir Abuga Yusuf, lamented the increasing rate of internally displaced persons in Nigeria, which he attributed to both natural and human factors.
Yusuf said: “The increase and spread of internally displaced persons in Nigeria is at alarming rate which is resulted from factors such as violent-conflict, natural hazard and human factors like banditry. However, internally displaced persons are faced with different challenges and more at risk of physical attack, sexual exploitation and adoption and frequently deprived of adequate shelter, food and health services.
“The federal government is not the only entity to display service to humanity. But all individuals should also partner with the government to make life worth living for everyone.”
