Laraba MUREY
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, has distributed essential food items to hundreds of families, including 14 rescued Chibok girls, at the Bulumkutu rehabilitation camp in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Edu disclosed this during an official visit to Maiduguri on Thursday where she visited Muna Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Centre, Shehu of Borno’s Palace
The minister was in Muna Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Centre, on a two day official visit as part federal government’s immediate relief package, which brought jubilation among the camp’s inhabitants.
A statement by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Zubair, on Friday, in Abuja, Edu emphasised that President Tinubu has promised to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, which is part of a strategy to provide long term solutions to insecurity and insurgency in the Country.
She noted that the goal of President Tinubu’s administration is to ensure they resettle back persons who have been internally displaced, and refugees that have been coming in from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and other persons of concern.
“So, it’s not just about resettling them, or offering them humanitarian services or responding when we have a humanitarian crisis.
“The issue is, how can we prevent these humanitarian crises from happening?
“How can we work with the security agencies, how can we work with the communities to prevent this crisis from happening?
“We want to be able to provide a more resilient system that is reliable and the interventions are sustainable, so it is not about going to offer a cup or bag of rice, No,” she said.
Edu assured the residents that the camp was temporal and that efforts were underway to integrate and relocate them back to their homes.
She pledged the unwavering support of the federal government under Tinubu, emphasizing that officials from her ministry would continue to provide psycho-social support on the ground.
Edu also promised periodic visits to ensure ongoing assistance.
On her part, the Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zuwaira Gambo, expressed gratitude for the minister’s visit, emphasizing the happiness it brought to the camp’s residents.
This visit marked Edu’s first to Borno state since assuming her role as Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Edu was accompanied by key officials including the Borno state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zuwaira Gambo, and Ambassador Catherine Udida from the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and IDPs, extended the government’s support to these vulnerable communities.
Food relief items distributed by the minister include hundreds of bags of rice, corn, beans, garri, vegetable oil, Maggi, and various other essentials.