Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Executive, legislature working to address IDPs’ plight, says Gbajabiamila

By Adamu Abuh, Abuja
01 August 2019   |   4:17 am
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that both the Executive and the Legislative arms of government are working assiduously...

Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (left) during his visit to internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Borno State …yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that both the Executive and the Legislative arms of government are working assiduously to address the plight of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.

The Speaker, who spoke yesterday during an assessment tour of the IDPs in Maiduguri, said that the Federal Government was more than committed to ensure that all internally-displaced persons were reunited with their families.

He said as the Speaker of the House, President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of his visit to Maiduguri and that as a government, they would work together to see an end to the issue.

“If you see me, if you see the House, then you see the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want you to take it away. I stand here as the Speaker of the House, but we’re one government. The President is aware that I’m here. We’re one government, and we speak with one voice.

“We will work together as one government. We have come with principal officers of the House. That tells you the importance that we attach to this assignment, including the presence of the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu. That tells you that the issue of IDPs or the terrorism is not an APC thing. It is a joint task.”

Gbajabiamila, who used the visit to donate 1,200 bags of rice to the IDPs at their camp along Gubio Road in Maiduguri, said the House would come up with legislation that would put IDPs in good stead.

“Hajj camps and even refugee camps are meant to be a stop-gap measure and not a permanent site.

“It is our responsibility as a government to make sure that the almost 32,000 persons that inhabit this camp are gradually reduced and resettled back to their families and their homes in a not-too-distant future. We are here to give encouragement on the little succour we can as government and see what we can do to address issues that concern you.”

“It is important that we know the condition under which these young children, mothers and fathers are living. It is important that we know whether the ministry of education has a role to play here, whether their education is suffering and what is the ratio of teacher to students here if there are any?

“If that does not meet required standards, then as a National Assembly, and as a government, we must deal with that situation.”

0 Comments