IDPs, refugees not forced on resettlement –Borno deputy governor

Internally displaced persons and refugees are not forced in the ongoing resettlement to rebuild communities, Borno State Deputy Governor, Umar Usman Kadafur, has said.

More than 1.5m citizens have been displaced by Boko Haram attacks in Borno State, with many scattered in the state capital and outside the state; while thousands fled to neighbouring Cameroon,

Niger and Chad. The state government recently intensified efforts to resettle affected citizens in newly constructed and rehabilitated houses after attacks.

Kadafur, while hosting Sadiya

Umar Farouk, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, in Maiduguri on Saturday, explained that the Borno State Government was only facilitating resettlement based on the will of displaced persons, and was resettling them with dignity and respect.

He noted that affected persons were allocated houses built from scratch or renovated, with basic amenities, provided along with food and cash support for their livelihood.

The deputy governor also reiterated the state government’s commitment to continued collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs on the welfare of Borno people, particularly the IDPs in the state.

He commended the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, for its support and provision of humanitarian assistance to the state.

The minister was in Maiduguri, leading a humanitarian coordination committee which included the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Managing Director/ CEO of the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC) and some directors from the ministry.

The committee was on inspection of Federal Government emergency food and non-food relief materials delivered to Borno for distribution to at the IDP camps and vulnerable persons in communities hosting displaced persons across the state.