The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has distributed relief items to victims of armed banditry in two Local Government Areas of Niger.
Sen. Basheer Mohammed, Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, said during the distribution of the items in Kuta, on Thursday, that the items were for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Shiroro and Munya camps.
Mohammed, who was represented by Mr Abdulraman Wachiko, Director, Human Resource Management, said the relief package was made up of food and non-food items meant to alleviate the sufferings of the IDPs.
He listed the items to include; rice, beans, millets, groundnut oil, Guinea corn, semovita, blankets, buckets, cooking stoves, cooking pots, bowls and sewing machines.
“The Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated great concerns for the welfare of displaced persons in the country,” he said.
He said the commission had also commenced the construction of massive housing units to resettle displaced persons under a project tagged: “IDPs Resettlement Cities.”
Mohammed noted that the project consisted of 600 units of two bedroom bungalows each, in selected states, adding that the houses would be furnished and equipped with facilities for education, skills acquisition and farmlands.
He added that the commission with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria had commenced another programme tagged: “Project Reliance” aimed at providing IDPs with vocational skills for means of livelihood.
In his remarks, Mr Suleiman Chikuba, Chairman of Shiroro, lauded the efforts of the commission, saying the local government lacked the capacity to cater for the number of IDPs from eight wards of the local government.
Also, Alhaji Ahmed Inga, Director General of the state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), said the agency would ensure the items got to the actual victims.
Inga, who was represented by Mr Hussein Ibrahim, Public Relations Officer of the agency, said the agency would use its structures in each camp such as committee headed by local government officials and community heads for the distribution.
One of the victims, Rifkatu Shedrick, appreciated the gesture from the Federal Government, saying it would go a long in reducing their sufferings.
Another victim, Mohammed Bawa called on the government to intensify efforts in tackling security challenges in the area to enable displaced persons return to their communities to continue with their farming activities.
