World Bank to Spend $77m on Resettlement of IDPs in North-east

The World Bank has set aside over $77 million for the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-east.

The amount would be committed to the provision of basic social amenities and relocation of the IDPs.

The National Coordinator of the World Bank-assisted Community and Social Development Project, Dr. Abdulkareem Obaje stated this yesterday while briefing participants at the ongoing Second Quarter Review meeting of the organisation at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna, the Niger State capital.

Obaje said each community would be given N10 million to execute projects that would hasten their resettlement, saying also that the organisation would emphasise good sanitation, health care facilities immunisation of children, as well as provision of water for those being relocated.

He told the meeting which included general managers of state offices of the organisation that the federal government would be advised to build what he described as “community houses” for the returning IDPs, saying that such houses were more secured and less prone to attacks by insurgents.

Ibaje reminded the participants that the programme should not be politicised as only poor communities were set out for intervention.

He also pleaded with state governments to pay their counterpart funds to enable the programme to reach more people.

“We are not intervening in all LGSs, therefore state governments are advised to select focal LGs, we are targeting 224 LGAs for intervention,” Obaje said.