By Blessing Bature-Akpakpan,
The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), under the leadership of the Federal Commissioner, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed has distributed food and non-food items to 1,500 households of Bakassi returnees.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the director, Human Resources of the Commission, AbdurRahman Wachiko said, there is no doubt that the Federal Government under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated great concern for the welfare of displaced persons in the country.
“In this regard, the Federal Government, empowered our Commission and we have been carrying out distribution of items to displaced persons in many States of the federation consistently. As a matter of fact, we have visited a total of 15 States in the last three months alone and the exercise continues.
“The Commission is committed to providing care and support for our displaced persons while also pursuing durable solutions for them. Therefore, it may interest you to know that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the gradual return of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Niger and Chad beginning from February 27, 2021”, he added.
“You may also be aware that the Commission has commenced work on construction of massive housing units to resettle displaced persons under a project tagged ‘IDPs Resettlement Cities’ consisting of 600 units of two-bedroom bungalows each in the selected states. The houses will be well furnished and equipped with facilities for education, worship, skills acquisition and farmlands among others.
“In the same vein, the Commission with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced another programme to address the issue of durable solution for displaced persons known as ‘Project Reliance’. It aims at providing displaced persons with skills for more meaningful livelihood in different vocations. At least, 50 different areas have been identified for them to choose from”, he stressed.
The Federal Commissioner further acknowledged the tremendous support of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the state government, host communities and other interest groups while urging the beneficiaries to reciprocate Federal Government’s efforts by making good use of the items being distributed to improve their wellbeing.
Items distributed include: 214 bags of 50kg rice, 96 bags of 100kg beans, 100 bags of 50kg gari, 60 cartons of 5 litres cooking oil, 38 gallons of 20 litres of palm oil, 100 bags of 100kg millet, 202 cartons of indomie super pack, 201 size 4 mats, 200 mattresses, 205 buckets and 200 blankets.
