President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said the return of
persons displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency to their home communities will
begin in earnest next year.
Speaking
during an audience with a delegation from the International Rescue
Committee (IRC) led by former British Foreign Minister, Mr. David Miliband,
President Buhari said his administration will do all within its powers to
facilitate the quick return and resettlement of over two million internally
displaced persons in their towns and villages.
Buhari,
according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and
Publicity, Garba Shehu, told Mr. Miliband and his delegation that the Federal
Government will welcome the support of the IRC and other local and
international non-governmental organizations for the rehabilitation of
internally displaced persons.
He
said: “In 2016, the return of the IDPs will start in earnest. They will
return to their communities to meet destroyed schools and other infrastructures
which have to be rebuilt.
“With
agriculture being moribund in the region in the last two years without
cropping, hunger is already manifest. We will welcome all the help we can
get to assist the returnees.”
Responding
to a request by Mr. Miliband for the federal government to list types of
assistance required for the IDPs, the President said there was an urgent need
for support in the areas of agricultural inputs, health, nutrition, water and
sanitation.
President
Buhari urged the IRC and other international agencies to work with the
Presidential Committee on the North-East and the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA) which, he said, were already doing a lot to cater for the IDPs and
restore some basic infrastructure in communities affected by terrorism and
insurgency.
Source: Saharareporters
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