The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the Northeast are not ready and willing to return to their ancestral homes despite the return of peace and normalcy in the zone.
This was disclosed by the North East Development Commission’s Executive Director, Humanitarian Affairs, Musa Yashi.
He revealed this to State House Correspondents at the 50th Session of the State House Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
The team, was led by the Managing Director, of NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, who was present at this week’s State House Briefing.
Speaking on the challenges of resettling the IDPs back to their home communities torn apart by the Boko Haram insurgency, Yashi noted that 20 to 30 per cent of displaced persons do not live in camps.
He said that the IDPs have so integrated with their host communities that they saw no need to return to their original settlements, most especially when their homes have been destroyed by insurgents and it will take years to rebuild.
He cited the dismal condition of towns across Monguno, arguing that resettlement would require the reconstruction of whole communities; a task, he stated was so daunting that the NEDC does not have enough funds to undertake now.
Alkali, explained that the Federal Government has concluded the construction of 1,000 housing units as part of the Federal Government’s resettlement efforts for millions of inhabitants displaced by the 13-year insurgency in Nigeria’s North East.
He disçlosed that the 1000 houses were built in Ngwom, Borno, at the cost of N17.5 billion, stressing that the mass housing project includes two-bedroom flats built in clusters.
According to him, the housing units have been handed over to the Borno State Government for distribution adding that there are plans to build 500 housing units in five other affected states.
Alkali also revealed that the NEDC has executed 647 projects ranging from agriculture, health, education, energy/power across 112 local government areas in the North East, with each Local Government Area (LGA) gulping at least N50 million, accruing to N5.6 billion.
He noted that three bridges have been constructed in Kudzum, Dilechim and Wuro-Ngayandi areas of Adamawa State.
The MD argued that the lack of a sturdy education system in the North East has fueled the insurgency.
Alkali, explained that the commission has created an Education Endowment Fund with a seed capital of N6bn; with plans to dedicate 10 per cent of its annual allocation to the fund.
Recall that the NEDC was inaugurated by the PresidentMuhammadu Buhari (retd.) in 2017 to coordinate all humanitarian interventions by government Ministries, Departments and Agencies based on the North East stabilization master-plan.
To execute its mandate according to the North East stabilisation and development masterplan in the next 10 years, Alkali said the commission requires at least N31.05 trillion.
The NEDC boss, also disclosed that the commission has internal mechanism in place to insulate it from draft.
Recall that the House of Representatives committee led by Hon. Tony Elumelu, had in July 2020, investigated N100 billion fund diversion from the commission.
But reacting to a question on what measures have being put in place to shield the NEDC from corruption, Alkali said the commission was created for a purpose and would ensure judicious utilisation of resources at its disposal and to actualize it’s mandate for the people.
“You see, these things have to do with institutional issues, individual issues, and so on and so forth. But, in our own case we know that we are created for a purpose, and at the end of the day we believe that posterity will judge us with what we have done with the mandate given to us.
“That is why we are very careful and very prudent in seeing that we propose and execute what we can do with the funds available
“Sometimes, yes, there could be political pressure, but always in the commission we are bent on following laid down procedures and see that we are guided by what is feasible and what is prudentially possible to achieve.
” And this is our commitment to the people of the North East to ensure that whatever is given to us is being protected for their benefit.”
