Federal Govt Flags Off Emergency Food, Nutrition Support In Yobe

The federal government has kicked off the Presidential Emergency Food and Nutrition Support intervention in Yobe State and reaffirmed its commitment to tackling food insecurity and strengthening resilience in conflict-affected communities in the North East region.

In a statement signed by the head of Information and Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Chinyere Ulasi, the minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Yusuf Tanko Sununu, described the intervention as a strategic response to the protracted humanitarian challenges confronting the state and the wider region.

The minister said that years of insurgency and violent extremism had displaced thousands of families, disrupted livelihoods and weakened household resilience in the state.

Sununu added that climate-induced challenges, such as desertification, erratic rainfall and periodic flooding, had seriously reduced agricultural productivity in the agrarian state, thereby worsening food insecurity and poverty.

Despite scaling back support from some international development partners, the minister stressed that the federal government remains resolute in ensuring that vulnerable Nigerians do not bear the burden of funding shortfalls.

He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising social protection and humanitarian response under the Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that the intervention reflected the administration’s commitment to safeguarding the welfare, dignity and resilience of poor and vulnerable citizens.

In his welcome address, the ministry’s permanent Secretary, Olubunmi Olusanya, said the distribution forms part of the Presidential Initiative for Emergency Food and Nutrition Support, designed to address food insecurity and malnutrition in the most conflict-affected northern states.

Olusanya explained that the intervention in Yobe included the distribution of food items, nutrition commodities, and essential medical supplies targeted at internally displaced persons, vulnerable returnees, women-headed households, malnourished children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

In his remarks, Governor Mail Mala Buni expressed appreciation to the federal government for its sustained support towards Yobe’s recovery and development efforts.

He said the state government had taken steps toward durable solutions, including the launch of Nigeria’s first state policy on internally displaced persons, backed by budgetary commitment and integrated into the state’s 25-year development plan.