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Tag: IDPs

  • UN Chief visits rehabilitation centre, IDP camp in Maiduguri

    UN Chief visits rehabilitation centre, IDP camp in Maiduguri

    The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on a visit to Nigeria on Tuesday in Maiduguri, visited a rehabilitation centre for victims of Boko-Haram and an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp.

    During the visits Gutteres, who showed concern over the plight of the affected persons, expressed UN commitment to continue to support measures to ameliorate their sufferings.

    Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno who briefed the secretary on the situation in Borno, lauded UN for its support to the state and urged for more.

    Zulum noted that many of the IDPs had stayed for several years in camps and were earger to return to thier recovered homes but the destroyed structures were yet to be reconstructed.

    He urged for more UN support in the ongoing rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement of the IDPs.

    At the rehabilitation home, the Borno Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, said from 2016 to date, the centre had rehabilitated 7039 women and children affected by the insurgency.

    Newsmen reports that the UN secretary, who was scheduled to address the press in Maiduguri, could not visit the border town of Banki as earlier scheduled because of time factor.

  • 7yrs after: Under Buhari’s watch we’re now IDPs in our own country – Afegbua

    7yrs after: Under Buhari’s watch we’re now IDPs in our own country – Afegbua

    …confusion in APC is a manifestation of the confused govt

    …blood-spilling activities of bandits and kidnappers skyrockets

    …says I have never seen a government that is this confused, incompetent, spineless, uncreative, rudderless and tactless

    A former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Kassim Afegbua has taken the Muhammadu Buhari led administration to the cleaners under his watch saying Nigerians are now internally displaced persons in their own country.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports this was contained in a statement personally signed by Afegbua baring all the alleged maladies associated with Buhari’s seven years governance of Nigeria.

    In the statement entitled: ‘President Buhari’s Government is a complete failure’, he catalogued the many failures of the APC led administation saying:

    “Life has become unbearable under a system that is manifestly asphyxiating, dehumanising and discomfiting.

    Adding that”Nigeria and Nigerians have become internally displaced persons in their own country as a result of the blood-spilling activities of bandits and kidnappers. From the North to the South, we are seeing rivers of blood flowing with cake of crimson, as a result of general insecurity.

    “Nothing seems to be working in Nigeria except failure. Only last week, the Auditor-General made mind-boggling revelations about the millions of barrels of oil without any trace under a president and minister of petroleum whose adherents see as “mai-gaskiya”. How on earth can 107 million barrels of oil be declared missing under a government that sings about anti-corruption, yet not many heads have rolled, nobody has been sacked, nobody has been apprehended and no one is cooling off in jail!! Imagine such a whooping figure as if it is a piece of groundnut in a pupil’s pocket. To make matters worse, the Finance Minister reportedly told the nation that the Federal Government was thinking of raising euro-bond cash to fund oil subsidy. What a cataclysmic catastrophy!. What impudence!

    “The APC and the Federal Government are two sides of a dysfunctional system that are unassailably confused, directionless and running amok.

    “The president is confused, the APC is confused, the general psyche of the people has been utterly affected. Aside from dithering from one dysfunctional emanation to another, the confusion in the party is a manifestation of the confusion in the government.

    “As if to rub insult on our collective injuries, the President’s Spokesman told an already befuddled nation and a citizenry that is heavily overburdened that “heaven will not fall”, no matter the lamentations and difficulties we are experiencing.

    “Imagine such infamy! How do you score such a wicked and sullen statement from a government that was voted for? For over a month now, fuel scarcity has remained a perpetual crisis across the country. Man-hours wastages are affecting the economy in a very debilitating manner.

    “Long queues of vehicles occasioned by the scarcity have become ugly sights across the country. Diesel has risen to over N700 per litre, kerosene which ought to be the cheapest for the average masses is now selling for N450 per litre. Electricity tariffs have risen astronomically, almost beyond the reach of the ordinary Nigerian.

    “In all of these, an elected president abandoned his citizens to seek medical attention in London.

    “I have stated on several occasions in the last week that a sick country cannot do well under a president that has health challenges; one of the reasons I am vehemently opposed to those old and tired politicians who now want to temporarily acquire the Aso Villa as their retirement home, and use the office to rejuvenate and repair themselves by contesting for presidency.

    “Rather than attend to our needs, they would be making all efforts to sustain their own wellbeing at the detriment and expense of Nigerians.

    “They will force the country to work and walk at their own slow pace. Rather than be on the fast lane, the country will naturally be detained in a motion without movement scenario, because the supposed enabler is busy attending to his health needs. It is pathetic that in president Buhari’s 7 years in office, he could not build a world standard hospital to look after his OWN health needs and those of other citizens.

    “Just take a look at the curious contradictions; the president of the country is in London for medicals, the First Lady is reportedly in Dubai, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the ruling party was in Dubai for medicals. Both party and government are immersed in unpardonable voyageS of wellness while the rest of the country can go to hell.

    “This government is not just wicked and inconsiderate, but also a cultivator of poverty, impoverishment, deprivation, hunger and starvation. The government has shown visible signs of underperformance, incompetence and crass materialism. The level of corruption in the system rubbishes the so-called anti-corruption mantra of the government.

    Read full release below:

    PRESS STATEMENT.

    PRESIDENT BUHARI”S GOVERNMENT IS A COMPLETE FAILURE.

    In all my adult life, I have never seen a government that is this confused, incompetent, spineless, uncreative, rudderless, tactless, clueless and demoralising like this one headed by a medical tourist, President Muhammadu Buhari. In seven years, it is a big shame that the Buhari presidency is unable to build a state of the art hospital that could answer his medical needs and the needs of other Nigerians . In seven years, our megawatts still revolve around 4,000 and 5,000 with so much so-called investment in the energy sector; and the president hops to London at the slightest opportunity to enjoy uninterrupted power supply, while leaving us in darkness. They go for medical tourism like post-graduate students seeking post-graduate degrees abroad. In seven years, electricity is in a quandary, possibly leading the country to a state of near total darkness;, and General Buhari would still thump his chest as president of Nigeria; presiding over failure? In seven years, not a single Refinery has been fixed or has any brand new one being built. It is an unpardonable failure on the part of this APC-led Federal government under the watch of President Buhari. I have never seen this level of incompetence being exhibited in high office like what we are witnessing today.

    Life has become unbearable under a system that is manifestly asphyxiating, dehumanising and discomfitting. Nigeria and Nigerians have become internally displaced persons in their own country as a result of the blood-spilling activities of bandits and kidnappers. From the North to the South, we are seeing rivers of blood flowing with cake of crimson, as a result of general insecurity.

    Nothing seems to be working in Nigeria except failure. Only last week, the Auditor-General made mind-boggling revelations about the millions of barrels of oil without any trace under a president and minister of petroleum whose adherents see as “mai-gaskiya”. How on earth can 107 million barrels of oil be declared missing under a government that sings about anti-corruption, yet not many heads have rolled, nobody has been sacked, nobody has been apprehended and no one is cooling off in jail!! Imagine such a whooping figure as if it is a piece of groundnut in a pupil’s pocket. To make matters worse, the Finance Minister reportedly told the nation that the Federal Government was thinking of raising euro-bond cash to fund oil subsidy. What a cataclysmic catastrophy!. What impudence!

    The APC and the Federal Government are two sides of a dysfunctional system that are unassailably confused, directionless and running amok. The president is confused, the APC is confused, the general psyche of the people has been utterly affected. Aside from dithering from one dysfunctional emanation to another, the confusion in the party is a manifestation of the confusion in the government. As if to rub insult on our collective injuries, the President’s Spokesman told an already befuddled nation and a citizenry that is heavily overburdened that “heaven will not fall”, no matter the lamentations and difficulties we are experiencing. Imagine such infamy! How do you score such a wicked and sullen statement from a government that was voted for? For over a month now, fuel scarcity has remained a perpetual crisis across the country. Man-hours wastages are affecting the economy in a very debilitating manner. Long queues of vehicles occasioned by the scarcity have become ugly sights across the country. Diesel has risen to over N700 per litre, kerosene which ought to be the cheapest for the average masses is now selling for N450 per litre. Electricity tariffs have risen astronomically, almost beyond the reach of the ordinary Nigerian. In all of these, an elected president abandoned his citizens to seek medical attention in London.

    I have stated on several occasions in the last that a sick country cannot do well under a president that has health challenges; one of the reasons I am vehemently opposed to those old and tired politicians who now want to temporarily acquire the Aso Villa as their retirement home, and use the office to rejuvenate and repair themselves by contesting for presidency. Rather than attend to our needs, they would be making all efforts to sustain their own wellbeing at the detriment and expense of Nigerians. They will force the country to work and walk at their own slow pace. Rather than be on the fast lane, the country will naturally be detained in a motion without movement scenario, because the supposed enabler is busy attending to his health needs. It is pathetic that in president Buhari’s 7 years in office, he could not build a world standard hospital to look after hisOWN health needs and those of other citizens. Just take a look at the curious contradictions; the president of the country is in London for medicals, the First Lady is reportedly in Dubai, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the ruling party was in Dubai for medicals. Both party and government are immersed in unpardonable voyageS of wellness while the rest of the country can go to hell. This government is not just wicked and inconsiderate, but also a cultivator of poverty, impoverishment, deprivation, hunger and starvation. The government has shown visible signs of underperformance, incompetence and crass materialism. The level of corruption in the system rubbishes the so-called anti-corruption mantra of the government.

    This is a clarion call to all and sundry that we must collectively add our voices to make the 2023 election a referendum by Nigerians against the abnormalities of the ruling APC. We have been demobilised by suffering and economic dislocations, hence we must speak with one voice against a system and party that has crippled our sense of creativity and productivity. As hard working Nigerians, we must conscientize, mobilise, and synergize amongst ourselves to create the right nexus for citizen action against the ruling party in 2023. We must bail our country from the octopoidal grip of the present incompetent leadership and lead it on the path of constructive and collective engagement in the overall interest of our people. We cannot continue to cultivate failure, embellish incompetence, glamourise inertia, celebrate nepotism and decorate cronyism in a 21st century world, as our article of faith. Never again! 2023 beckons.

    Signed….

    PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA

    FORMER COMMISSIONER FOR INFORMATION,

    EDO STATE.

    MEMBER, PDP, WARD 5, OKPELLA.

  • UN pledges more support for IDPs in DR Congo’s Ituri province

    UN pledges more support for IDPs in DR Congo’s Ituri province

    United Nations (UN) top peacekeeping official, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has stated that the UN will work together with the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as other partners, in ensuring security in the eastern part of the country, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN’s top peacekeeping official,

    He said this on the first day of his visit to the country, in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, while representing the Secretary-General, António Guterres.

    Lacroix held different discussions with provincial authorities of Ituri and North Kivu and reiterated the need for the international community and other regional partners to support the DRC in providing security for the displaced people.

    He reiterated the need to support the DRC in providing security for internally-displaced persons (IDPs), including in Ituri province where recurring attacks from the CODECO militias in Djugu territory have left hundreds of people dead and thousands internally displaced.

    Lacroix visited a UN site in Djugu territory of Ituri that is hosting 74,000 IDPs and listened to representatives of communities living on the site, who appealed for various things from the UN – and the Government – as the DRC’s Minister for Defense, Gilbert Kabanda, was accompanying the UN peacekeeping chief.

    Defence Minister Kabanda promised that within one month, more Congolese troops will be deployed to the villages where the IDPs had fled, so that security can be fully restored and infrastructure, such as schools and health facilities, could be built.

    One of the representatives of the people, Pilo Mulindro Willy, who is Chief of Bulkwa, raised the issue of security as a top priority, both at the site in the town of Roe as well as in the villages.

    “I asked the Government to disarm these armed groups as they are disturbing our people. Villagers want to return home so that they could continue with farming,” he said.

    “We want the Government to send more troops to protect our villages.,” he said, adding that the promised one month is too long to wait for troops to come and secure the area.

    The minister acknowledged that the site at Roe was not safe as there are not enough troops from the Congolese military to protect civilians.

    According to UN officials, the wave of violent attacks in the Ituri area since November 2021 has resulted in an increase in the number of IDPs at the site of Roe, leading to the rapid saturation of the facilities there.

    There is a dire lack of infrastructure and basic services for the displaced persons, leading many to settle in public spaces, with others hosted in precarious conditions by host families.

    Currently, displaced people do not have access to shelter, food, healthcare, and psychosocial assistance. Newly displaced people lack basic shelter and basic items, putting additional pressure on IDPs that were on-site before the last six months.

    Sanitation and hygiene are critical due to the lack of WASH facilities, increasing the risk of a surge in deadly epidemics.

    Lacroix also traveled to Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, where he held discussions with the military Governor, Lt.-Gen. Ndima Constant.

    The UN peacekeeping chief reiterated United Nations’ solidarity with the Congolese people.

    “The Secretary-General is sending his message about our determination to work tirelessly with national, local, military, police authorities and civil as well as our common determination to see the local population benefits from our humanitarian plea and security efforts.”

    He added that his visit has showcased the cordial relations between the United Nations and provincial authorities.

    On the protection of civilians in Goma, Lacroix cited a great collaboration that has been established between the Congolese armed forces, FARDC, and one of DR Congo’s neighbors, saying, “I think such determined efforts bear fruits.

    “But we all understand it takes time, that’s why the United Nations have to repeat every time we call and engage. You might be determined and at the same time understand that it is not a problem that could be resolved in certain weeks or months.”

    On February 17, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the humanitarian community launched an US$1.88 billion appeal to implement the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan, aiming at providing aid to 8.8 million vulnerable people.

    On Thursday, Lacroix will be in the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, to represent the UN Secretary-General at the Summit of the Regional Oversight Mechanism, (ROM) of the Addis Ababa Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region.

  • UN officials, NGOs diverting, mismanaging donor funds for IDPs – Zulum

    UN officials, NGOs diverting, mismanaging donor funds for IDPs – Zulum

    Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has accused the United Nations and other international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) of diverting and mismanaging funds donated for displaced people in the northeastern region of the country.

    Zulum shared his thoughts at the Borno State Government House on Wednesday when the UN Humanitarian Coordinator Edward Kallon led ambassadors of donor countries to Borno.

    The UN delegation paid a courtesy call on Governor Zulum after interacting with the internally displaced in temporary shelters within Maiduguri.

    At the meeting, Zulum expressed his displeasure at the UN’s handling of funds donated for humanitarian assistance.

    According to the governor, some UN officials may be feeding fat on the misfortune of the affected population, insisting that the Unilateral spending style of donations must be investigated.

    “You may announce some heavy donations, but if this money is left unchecked, believe me sincerely 30 per cent of this funding will not go to the target population,” the governor stated.

    UN data suggests that the Boko haram conflict has led to one of the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

    This year alone there are at least 8.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance out of which no fewer than 4.4 million are expected to need food assistance in the current lean season.

    The US ambassador, Mary Leonard, and her UK counterpart, Catriona Laing, met with major ‘stakeholders’ in the humanitarian services in Borno on the humanitarian and development priorities in northeast Nigeria.

    This visit is a sequel to the UN’s request for donations to address the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria, during the latest G7 meeting.

    Prior to visiting Governor Zulum at the State House, the two top diplomats visited IDP camps, the military and some of the humanitarian offices. They were led by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon.

    The prolonged unrest within the northeast has affected the Lake Chad Region, including neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad for over 10 years.

  • Insecurity: Boko Haram mounting pressures on IDPs to join them – Gov Zulum

    Insecurity: Boko Haram mounting pressures on IDPs to join them – Gov Zulum

    Governor of Borno state, Babagana Umara Zulum has raised the alarm that the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents were recruiting fresh members, mostly from the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

    According to the governor, “truly, the Boko Haram sect is working on people to join them. This is frightening. If the IDPs living in camps could not get what they are looking for, especially the opportunity to go back to their various towns and return to the farm, they may be forced to join the Boko Haram sect.”

    Zulum who spoke in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC, said, the IDPs are tired and bored of staying in the camps because they were not getting what they really wanted.

    “It is important that they go back to their various towns because no government can continue to be feeding them continuously,” he said.

    The Governor who said that, so far, his government has been able to return hitherto displaced persons to Mafa and Kukawa, while plans were on to return people to Kawuri, expressed hope that the military will intensify efforts and make it possible for people to return to Baga, Marte, Malam Fatori and Guzamala.

    According to Zulum, in the interview monitored by our Correspondent in Kaduna, the security situation was improving in Borno state, but there are still danger as the Boko Haram elements were still in their hiding place.

    According to him, “The sect members are hiding at the Lake Chad area and the Sambisa forest. There will still be a problem unless they are traced to their hiding places. Chasing them away from their headquarters is one of the solutions towards ending the insurgency,” he said.

    Zulum however, observed that chasing the Boko Haram elements from Sambisa needed support form Nigeria’s neighbors. However, the governor explained that to successfully go into the lake Chad basin and Sambisa forest, it required the cooperation of the countries that share borders with Nigeria in the area.

    On whether the Insurgents still occupy some places in Nigeria, he said, “truly, there is no place under the occupation of Boko Haram. But there are places with no people there. What I mean is that people are yet to return to their places of origin.”

    “I swear by Allah, before the coming of Buhari, the security situation in Borno had deteriorated. At that time, 20 local government areas where under Boko Haram. Now, it’s not so.”

    Asked when Boko Haram will end, he said there are thousands of people in different IDP camps in the state. “One surest way to end Boko Haram is ensuring a good relationship between the military and civilians.”

    “I keep on saying wherever you go, you will see the military and vigilante together. But what I am saying is that the military should provide protection to the civilians to enable them to return home and go back to their farms.”

    He said the military is doing their best. “But what is disturbing us is, when shall this war with Boko Haram come to an end?.” Commenting on the Baga attack on his convoy, he reiterated that it was sabotage.

    He said although he did not mention the name, whatever is done to hinder the fight against Boko Haram is an act of sabotage including failure to use money and buy arms.

    He said the Baga attack was shameful.

    “I was not afraid because I rely on Allah. Nothing will happen to a Muslim unless by the will of Almighty Allah.”

    “I was attacked with bombs but Almighty Allah protected me. We must be brave, if we continue to fear, the war will not end,” he said.

  • Hunger: IDPs in Abuja beg FG for palliatives

    The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Wasa community of the Federal Capital Territory have appealed to the Federal Government to provide them with food palliatives and other needs to ease their lives.

    Mr Joffrey Bitrus, the Chairman of Wasa IDP Camp, who spoke with journalists on Thursday, alleged that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs had neglected them to their fate.

    “Since we entered this lockdown period, we have not seen any government agency coming to help us. We are about 5,600 in the camp from Yobe, Borno and Adamawa States.

    “I am begging the Federal Government to come to help us because the hunger is too much. We are in a critical condition because of the lockdown.

    “NEMA and FEMA normally come here to collect our names but we have not heard anything from them.

    “We are hearing in the news that Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, is sharing money and relief materials to the poor, but we have not gotten anything.

    “We are suffering from hunger and starvation. We don’t have anything to eat, our youths are jobless and we can’t go back to our villages because of the insurgency,” Bitrus said.

    According to him, Farouq used to visit the camp when she was a federal commissioner at the refugees commission after which she no longer visit again.

    “I am calling on her as the minister to do something for the IDPs; we are dying here.

    “I know the ministry is trying, but it needs to step up and do more to fulfil its mandate on humanitarian disaster which we fall under,” Bitrus said.

    However, the Special Assistant on Media and Press Affairs to Farouq, Mr Salisu Dambatta, said IDPs in Wasa community are under the care of Federal Capital Territory.

    “They are under the care and management of the FCT Emergency Management Agency,” Dambatta said.

  • COVID-19: UN launches emergency response in North East, IDPs camps

    COVID-19: UN launches emergency response in North East, IDPs camps

    The United Nations (UN) has announced plans to begin an emergency response in the North East region of Nigeria to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the region.

    A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, quoted Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria as saying that the displaced persons had already suffered enough and should not be left to suffer the effect of the pandemic.

    He said the response would focus on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, adding that the UN office said that it wanted to be ready to curb the pandemic in the event that it spreads to any of the states.

    “We will not wait for COVID-19 to reach camps for internally displaced persons before we act.

    “They have already suffered enough from the decade-long conflict and our priority is to ensure the continuous delivery of life-saving assistance, especially health services, to the most vulnerable women, children and the elderly who need special attention.

    “More than ever, it is crucial for vulnerable people to have access to not only water, soap, shelters, but also food, education and protection,” he said.

    Kallon noted that the UN in Nigeria was supporting the governments of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in developing emergency response plans that take the reality of the living conditions in many communities and IDP camps into account.

    The mitigation measures, according to the UN body would also focus more on overcrowded camps and camp-like settings where the risk of disease outbreaks is higher.

    Kallon said that the UN and its humanitarian partners, were actively involved in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) in IDP sites across the three states in support of both the national and state emergency management agencies.

    “Humanitarian partners are installing hand-washing stations in IDP camps, ensuring supply of clean water, distributing soap and teaching women how to produce their own.

    “The United Nations is also planning to bring in vital health equipment and tools to prevent and treat the respiratory virus, which is now affecting over 12 states across Nigeria.

    “The UN has developed awareness-raising and prevention messages, leaflets, posters, animations and videos specific for IDPs and other vulnerable people in the north-east.

    “In partnership with major TV and radio channels, it has launched sensitization campaigns across various Nigerian states, reaching millions of Nigerians,” Kallon said.

    He disclosed that the UN was also launching a survey tool with the Network of People Living with HIV (NEPWHAN) to gather specific and arising challenges for people living with HIV on continuous access to quality treatment, care and support in the midst of the response to the outbreak of COVID-19.

  • Adamawa IDPs reject NEMA’s food intervention

    The aggrieved Internally Displaced Persons in Fufore International Transit camp, in Adamawa, have rejected the foodstuffs supplied to them by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IDPs on Wednesday staged a protest over shortage of food in the camp

    They said NEMA had not supplied food to them for four months.

    NAN reports that the Fufore International transit camp housing more than 1500 IDPs, is located near Fufore town, Fufore local government area, of Adamawa.

    Malam Umar Bakura, spokesperson of the IIDPs, told NAN on Friday, in Yola, that they rejected the foodstuffs because it was contaminanted and would not go round to all the IDPs.

    “We are about 1,500 Internally Displaced Persons including children, women, orphans and elderly people living in the Fufore camp.

    ”There are over 200 households in the camp and NEMA used to supply a total of 660 bags of 25 kg and 330 bags of soybean of 25 kg among the households for the period of one month.

    “But today (Friday) NEMA came with 220 contaminanted rice of 25 kg and 300 bags of soybean of 25 kg each to share, which is one third of what they were giving us previously and we rejected it, ” Bakura said.

    He said that they hailed from Bama, Gwoza and Gamboru in Borno, and called on the Gov. Babagana Zulum, to evacuate them back home.

    Meanwhile, Mr Midala Anuhu, NEMA’s operational officer in charge of Adamawa and Taraba, confirmed to NAN that the agency had evacuated the food items back to its store.

    “The agency reviewed the distribution of the food items, where it sent about 226 bags of rice of 25 kg and about 300 bags of soybean of 25 kg to the IDPs.

    ” They (IDPs) rejected the food items. We pleaded with them to accept it but they refused and protested that what we supplied to them is not enough for them.

    “So we evacuated the food items back to our store, because we have no choice,” Midala said.

  • IMF expresses worry over rising numbers of IDPs in Nigeria

    IMF expresses worry over rising numbers of IDPs in Nigeria

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is concerned with the rising numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries.

    IMF said this on Friday in Washington DC in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa report presented by Director of the IMF’s African Department, Mr Abebe Selassie.

    According to the IMF, the current number of internally displaced persons in the region is five times higher than it was 20 years ago.

    Figures from the report showed that the number of IDPs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 4.4 million people, South Sudan 1.9 million and Nigeria 1.7 million.

    Selassie said that economic growth in the Sub-Saharan region was expected to increase from three per cent in 2018 to 3.5 per cent in 2019.

    “Some 21 countries, mainly the region’s more diversified economies, are expected to grow at more than five per cent and see income per capita rise faster than the rest of the world on average over the medium term.

    “However, the remaining countries, comprising mostly resource intensive countries, including the largest, Nigeria and South Africa, are expected to see slower improvements in standards of living.

    “Overall, sub-Saharan African countries need to strike a delicate policy balance between containing public debt levels, investing in human and physical capital and raising revenue.

    “This calls for urgent action on the fiscal front to improve tax revenue collection, public financial management and spending efficiency.

    “On the trade front, countries should reduce non-tariff barriers and deepen intra-trade integration including in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” Selassie said.

    According to the report, growth in Nigeria was 1.9 per cent in 2018 and is expected to reach 2.1 per cent in 2019, driven by recovering oil production and a pickup in the non-oil economy in the aftermath of the election.

    However, the near-term outlook remains subdued as a result of lower oil prices, which have large spillover effects, including to the non-oil sector over the medium term.

  • Boko Haram: IDPs protest over hunger, neglect in Maiduguri

    …as NEMA insists protest not because of hunger

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday dismissed as misleading reports alleging that some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) staged a demonstration to protest lack of food at the Teachers’ Village IDPs camp in Maiduguri.

    In a statement, Mr Sani Datti, the Head of Media and Public Relations of the agency, said that the protest was not triggered by lack of food and starvation in the camp, but rather due to the suspension of registration of the displaced persons by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

    Datti said: “for record and purpose of clarity, though there was protest by some IDPs living in Teachers Village Camp, Maiduguri, it was never caused by hunger or lack of food supplies.

    “The protest was actually caused by interruption of profiling exercise of the IDPs by International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), who were at the camp to extend their humanitarian support to complement the effort of partners.

    “Consequently, some people outside made attempt to be enumerated and this prompted some IDPs in the camp to chase them away and it resulted in commotion and riot.

    “However, the situation has been immediately brought under control by the security operatives stationed at the camp and normalcy restored,” Datti said.

    Datti said that the agency had continued to provide food items monthly to the IDPs in camps, host communities and liberated areas in Borno and Adamawa States.

    According to him, the agency had conducted the monthly food distribution exercise at the camp on January 15, 2019, for the households, adding that the food ration was expected to sustain the households for one month.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some aggrieved IDPs staged a demonstration on Tuesday in Maiduguri, to protest alleged lack of food and shelter at the camp.

    Hundreds of the displaced persons took to the streets, blocked the Maiduguri-Kano Road, and destroyed bill boards and campaign posters of political parties candidates mounted by the road.

    It took the intervention of the police, military and other security operatives to disperse the protesting IDPs.

    The protesters were taking refuge at the camp since January, sequel to the displacement of households from their homes due to Boko Haram insurgents’ attack in Baga and adjourning communities in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno.

    A cross section of the protesting IDPs said that they were demonstrating over lack of food and shelter in the camp since their arrival about 40 days ago.