IDPs: Sani Zoro urges Osinbajo to visit northeast

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Mr Sani Zoro on Thursday called on the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to conduct urgent assessment needs of the humanitarian situation in the northeast.

In a statement in Maiduguri, Zoro lamented the deteriorating humanitarian situation, sequel to the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in northern Borno.

Zoro noted that such needs assessment exercise by the Vice President is critical toward enhancing support services to the displaced persons and address the humanitarian crisis caused by the insurgency.

He said: “As of today, Jan. 3, 2019, relevant authorities have registered more than 12, 000 individuals and 3,500 households new IDPs in Borno State, therefore swelling up Nigeria’s displaced population, and stretching available facilities outside their limits.

“The sight of dying elderly men and women who fell by the wayside on the tortuous journey from Baga, Doron Baga and Gudumbali towns is not only pathetic, but humanly degrading.

“Likewise is the pitiful sight of the youthful population comprising boys and girls, engaged in street begging due to circumstances forced upon them by the protracted Boko Haram conflict.

“Beyond food handouts, the IDPs are in desperate need for warm blankets, to protect them against the biting cold. They are in need of shelter, mattresses, cooking utensils, water and sanitation items, pads, as well as non-food items”.

Zoro stressed on the need for emergency exercise to assess the situation, to stimulate effective response services to the affected persons.

He noted that the Vice President should personally visit Borno, in line with his mandate as the supervising officer National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative (PCNI).

“The situation recommends him even more, owing to his pro-humanitarian pasture and sympathies toward IDPs in the Northeast.

“His visit will further help to check the racketeering practices of aid workers who have turned disaster-profiteers through diversion and theft of humanitarian aid in the recent past,” Zoro said.

He, therefore, called for volunteers and care givers to engage in the evacuation and settlement processes of the newly displaced persons in the troubled region.