The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has donated multi-million naira worth of food and non-food items to 1,000 indigenes of Nasarawa State who were affected by the rain storm in three local government areas of the state.
The relief materials, namely 1,000 units of 25 kg of rice and dates donated by Saudi Arabia, as well as varieties of clothing materials, were handed over to Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State on Thursday at the Government House for onward distribution to the beneficiaries.
While handing over the relief materials on behalf of the Ministry, NCFRMI Commissioner, Hon. Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, unveiled plans for the handing over of keys to refugees at the Resettlement City located in Keffi, Nasarawa State, in the next few weeks.
According to him, the Commission has so far constructed six resettlement cities in Kano, Borno, Katsina, Zamfara, Edo, and Nasarawa States for our Persons of Concern (PoCs).
He explained that the Commission is saddled with the responsibility and mandate to coordinate national action for the protection, assistance, and provision of sustainable, durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, returnees, and stateless persons, which we refer to as Persons of Concern (PoCs).
While commiserating with all those who have lost their families, homes, and sources of livelihood occasioned by banditry, natural disasters as a result of climate change, and other forms of man’s inhumanity to fellow man, Hon. Ahmed pledged the support of the Federal Government under President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to Nasarawa State in its quest to meet the needs of all persons of concern and the citizens at large.
“We shall stand with you through thick and thin until your livelihood is fully restored in a dignified manner.
Permit me also to use this opportunity to commend your resilience and great determination to keep on in the face of grave despair and hazardous situations.
“We are here today to pay a courtesy visit to Your Excellency; flag off the distribution of relief items after conducting a first-hand assessment of the situation of IDPs in Nasarawa State with the aim of bringing succour to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state; and finally, to solicit greater collaboration between the Commission and the State Government in assisting the most vulnerable people in the state.
“This collaboration between the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons and the Nasarawa State Government will greatly impact the lives of persons of concern, especially in providing durable solutions in the areas of psychosocial and mental health treatment, livelihood support, displacement and disaster management, provision of relief materials, provision of basic healthcare needs, education and skill acquisition, and exploring other ways for the betterment of the most vulnerable sect within society.
“With God Almighty on our side and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in place as the cornerstone, our vision for a better Nigeria is possible and achievable. Through this agenda and other possible interventions, the Commission aims to rebuild and improve the lives of vulnerable people not only in Nasarawa State but the country at large,” he said.
He also informed Governor Sule of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to establish Skills Acquisition Centre’s across the six geopolitical zones of the country in tune with its Skills-2-Wealth Strategic Initiative.
Consequently, I would like to request a stronger partnership between the Commission and the Nasarawa State Government through: open dialogue with Your Excellency and your team; recommendations of possible steps needed for progress; robust feedback based on the mechanisms set by the Commission; the collection and deployment of proper data on IDPs; and the provision of targeted interventions.
While addressing the Federal Government’s delegation and all the beneficiaries, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State eulogised President Tinubu, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and Poverty Alleviation for the provision of the relief materials and for the series of interventions provided to the state since the last administration.
Governor Sule also showered encomium on the Commission for thinking outside the box by initiating the skill acquisition programmes for Persons of Concern.
“Like the Commissioner had mentioned, it happened when I was not in the country, but I’m glad that the Commissioner and the State Government have done the best they could for you, and I also want to thank the Federal Commissioner as well as the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and, in fact, our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his continuous support in issues such as this.
“This kind of situation actually takes place in nearly every state of the Federation, and every time they have such a situation, they rush there and try as much as possible to support the people, and that has been what has been going on.
“Let me use this opportunity really. I was so happy to hear the Federal Commissioner thinking outside the box when he started mentioning skill acquisition centres. I think that is thinking outside the box for refugees, migrants, and internally displaced persons because that is the direction to go in order to give them some sense of belonging, some sense of independence, and for them to stand on their own two feet.
“In Nasarawa State, we take skill acquisition seriously, and that is the reason why, infant from here, I was told that there has been a rainstorm that caused destruction at our skill acquisition centre, and I’m going there straight away because I just heard about it and I’m going there to see what it is, because we don’t want what will interrupt our skill acquisition programmes.”
Governor Sule also assured the people affected by the rainstorm, as well as other persons of concern, of the Federal Government’s resolve to sustain the humanitarian efforts.
He also applauded the resettlement project embarked on in Keffi and promised that “by the grace of God, I’ll be more than happy to hand over the keys to the beneficiaries. It’s in line with our own vision of the state, because recently we handed over keys to our staff, the civil servants in the state, because we have to hand them over so that they can become home owners.
“And so, I will be more than happy to extend that to the people who were affected as a result of displacement by one kind of disaster or another. So, I thank you for inviting me for that purpose,” Governor Sule said.
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