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EU, Mercy Corps hand over 325 houses in Borno

By Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri) and Abel Abogonye (Lafia)
16 November 2020   |   4:13 am
The European Union (EU) and Mercy Corps have handed over 325 permanent shelters to Internally Displaced Person (IDP) households in the Gwoza Council Area of Borno State.

• Nasarawa plans N14.7b secretariat complex
The European Union (EU) and Mercy Corps have handed over 325 permanent shelters to Internally Displaced Person (IDP) households in the Gwoza Council Area of Borno State.

The provision of shelters is part of Borno ‘Maida’ Early Recovery (BMER) programme that targets victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

Mercy Corps’ Country Director, Ndubisi Anyanwu, in a statement, disclosed that; “the construction of shelters, is part of efforts provided social protection for conflict affected returnee households in communities.”

He noted that the recovery programme, was implemented in the state by Mercy Corps and International Centre for Energy, Environment and
Development (ICEED).

Anyanwu added that about 75per cent of returning household lost their means of livelihoods to insurgency attacks.

According to him, this led to most of returnees to live in makeshift shelters in IDP camps and host communities.

“After 11 months’ work of assessing community needs, prototyping a suitable shelter and construction work for IDP returnees,” she said, the vulnerable returnee households, IDPs and host community members, each got two-bedroom shelter with a veranda.

He added that the programme would improve local economy, including job opportunties, vendors and supply of building materials.

He continued, “local artisans were actively involved in the construction process, giving community members an opportunity to earn income by actively participating in the rebuilding process.

“The support of the Borno State Government through the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (MRRR) ensured community shelter design were met.

“Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) supported the issuance of land certificates to participants, while ICEED), provided solar home systems and electrical wiring/installations for the shelters.

While receiving shelters for allocation, MRRR commissioner, Mustapha Gubio said that the allocations of houses be based on each individual households, whose homes were torched by insurgents in 2014.
MEANWHILE, the Nasarawa state government plans to build an ultramodern state secretariat complex to house all state ministries in the state capital.

The Commissioner of Information, Mr. Dogo Shama made this known while briefing journalists after the state executive council meeting held at the Government House in Lafia.

The state secretariat building described as legacy project is captured in the 2021 budget and would gulp N14,709,78,208,31 and would commence in 2021.

Dogo stated however that 108.88 hectares of land have been earmarked for the construction of the modern state secretariat at the NADP project quarters, Lafia.

Mr. Dogo Shama said the proposed state secretariat complex is to facilitate the ease of doing business with the state government in a one-stop shop to avoid beaurocracy.

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