Gambari Opens 804 Houses Built By UNDP, Borno Govt

President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, yesterday in Mafa town of Borno State, commissioned 804 houses for the resettlement of displaced members of Ngarannam community and neighboring villages.

Although the project is for 804 houses, a total of 564 were completed.

The 804 were provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Borno State Government.

The Borno State government is building 304 houses from which 204 were completed with 100 ongoing,  while the UNDP has 500 units of houses funded through a Regional Stabilization Facility (RSF) from which 360 were completed while 140 were ongoing.

The UNDP’s housing estate, designed with a health centre, police post, school and market, is for the resettlement of Ngarannam community, while Borno’s houses are for resettlement of a number of villages neighboring Ngarannam.

From both projects, a total of 564 houses were completed out of the combined 804 targeted by Borno Government and the UNDP.

The UNDP had, in July 2019, developed a Regional Stabilization Facility (RSF) with support from Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands and the European Union (EU).

The RSF was created to facilitate the implementation of a Regional Strategy for the Stabilization, Recovery & Resilience of areas affected by Boko Haram attacks around the Lake Chad Basin made up of communities in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The RSF contributes towards the restoration of security and relief to communities affected by Boko Haram insurgency.

Ngarannam community was attacked and destroyed by Boko Haram some years back, forcing community members to become displaced.

Gambari was the special guest of honour while the minister of state for budget and national development, Prince Clem Agba, was the guest of honour. Agba co-chairs Nigeria’s window of the Regional Stabilization Facility (RSF).