The food items distributed include rice, garri, semovita, spaghetti, vegetable oil, and salt.
At the flag-off ceremony held at the Federal Secretariat, Ilorin, the state capital, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Tijani Ahmed, who was represented by the commission’s Deputy Director, Communications and Strategy, Tunde Oyasanya, said the FG is concerned about the plights of the IDPs and spare no effort to assuage their sufferings.
“What we are doing here is in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has equally supported us so that something meaningful is done to provide succour to 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 concern,” Ahmed explained.
He urged the beneficiaries not to sell the items to serve the intended purpose.
He said, “The commission has committed a huge sum of money to purchase these items and support you. We beg you not to sell them. This is just one of our programmes and very soon we will go into a livelihood programme to empower each one of you.
“We do not need to be bringing food items to you. We are interested in what you can do for yourselves and make money.”
Ahmed applauded the state government for its resilience and commitment to the welfare of the people, urging the public not to stigmatise the victims.
In his address, the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties, John Bello, described the IDPs’ issue as a challenge to governments at all levels, saying the administration is committed to alleviating challenges facing them (IDPs) and other vulnerable members of the society.
“The issue of IDPs is a serious challenge to the government and the society at large. So, the government is making efforts to ease the suffering 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 Zonal Coordinator, North Central National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Bashir Yusuf, lamented the increasing rate of IDPs in the country which he attributed to both natural and human factors.
“The increase and spread of internally displaced persons in Nigeria is at an 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 are 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,” the zonal coordinator appealed.
