Buni’s Commitment, Concern For IDPs Excite Swiss Ambassador

Delighted by the commitments of the Yobe State governor, Hon Mai Mala Buni on the plights of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the Swiss ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Nicholas Lang has pledged the allocation of 25% of his country’s total budget for the North-East sub-region to support Yobe’s implementation of the new Policy Document for Internally Displaced Persons recently launched.

Switzerland is part of the wider donour and humanitarian countries and organizations that support the North-East BAY states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe to recover and rebuild from many years of Boko Haram atrocities.

A statement from the commissioner of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Hon Abdullahi Bego said the Swiss ambassador made the pledge during a cocktail meeting with Gov. Buni and other senior elected and appointed officials from the state at his residence in Abuja recently.

Mr. Lang explained that based on Yobe’s potential and dedication to providing durable solutions to internal displacement and lift itself out of humanitarian assistance and also in consideration of the State Government’s openness to working with external partners, Switzerland has made a decision to “commit 25% of our budget for North-East Nigeria in the next 4 years to support the implementation of Yobe State’s Action Plan on durable solutions.”

The Swiss ambassador commended the Buni administration for the meticulous work that went into producing the Policy Document for the internally displaced, revealing that the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General on Solutions to Internal Displacement, Mr Robert Piper has also hailed Yobe’s policy document for IDPs as a “global model” that others can copy and learn from.

Mr Lang said the donour and humanitarian community is particularly impressed with the way that the Yobe State Government took ownership of the entire process that led to the development of the policy document and its “meaningful engagement with all strata of society” as the Action Plan was being developed.

Gov. Buni has while speaking disclosed that the Action Plan was to help in providing a lasting solution to the problem of internal displacement that conflicts often instigate.

“The Action Plan, together with other relevant policies and institutional frameworks in the state, will create a lasting solution that not only meet immediate needs but also support the short-, medium- and long-term socio-economic recovery and development of the state”, the governor said.

Buni revealed that the Yobe State Government will commit five percent of its annual budget for the next three years “towards creating sustainable conditions that facilitate a comprehensive transition to development through voluntary, safe, and dignified return, local integration, or relocation of IDPs and host communities.

“Our focus is on reviving local economies by investing in key priority areas to support human capital development, especially in the core sectors of health, education, agricultural, and entrepreneurial activities, enabling families to rebuild their livelihoods and achieve self-sufficiency.”

Gov. Buni, along with federal and state officials and members of the diplomatic corps have recently launched the Yobe State Policy Document for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Center in Abuja.