The Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has assured the United Nations (UN) that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was taking deliberate and effective steps to address the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.
He gave the assurance during a high-level United Nations Special Online event on Wednesday to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internally Displaced Persons, while featuring as one of the esteemed panelists.
Kalu highlighted the government’s concerted efforts to domesticate the Kampala Convention, a pivotal regional treaty designed to protect and assist IDPs.
He emphasised that President Tinubu’s administration has proactively activated key components of the treaty to significantly enhance the living conditions of IDPs.
Kalu further informed the UN that the National Assembly of Nigeria was diligently finalising legislation to provide legal backing to the treaty.
In a statement by Kalu’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Levinus Nwabughiogu, the Deputy Speaker assured that upon securing presidential assent, the States of the Federation will also adopt the legislation, ensuring a unified approach to addressing IDP issues nationwide.
He said: “I am humbled to make my contributions about legislative activities and perspectives that we have on this particular issue, particularly in regards to concrete steps taken by my country in addressing the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Our country, Nigeria believes so much in these principles.
“The ones that are on the front burner for us as we activate issues around the IDPs. The principle one, which is protection from arbitrary displacement. Three, which is protection during this displacement, ten, which is the right to know the fate of whereabouts of relatives and twenty eight, which is the right to be returned or resettled. These are the ones on the front burner. We also believe in other ones, these principles form the bedrock of Kampala Convention.
“Our target is that these principles become alive in our country by making sure that Kampala Convention which we’ve rectified will be domesticated in our laws in the country.
“Nigeria after rectifying it, leaving it as it is, is not enough. The next step is to make sure that it is domesticated. To do that, we’ve taken it upon ourselves. Personally, I proposed the enactment into our laws and sponsored it in the House of Representatives because I believe in the potency of those principles and it can only be active in Nigeria if it is made to be part of our laws, especially as it concerns arbitrary displacement and upholding human rights of these Internally Displaced Persons and working in partnership with organizations like yours to make sure they are well taken care of.
“I proposed a bill, it has been approved by the House of representatives and it has moved to the Senate for Concurrence, the senate report is ready and will be considered when we are back from our recess on April 29. After that the National Assembly clerk will take it to the President for assent.”
Kalu also revealed that the government through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria (NCFRMI) has improved the lives of the IDPs by resettling about 300 of them, particularly in Keffi, Nasarawa and Kano States with the delivery of over 40 new homes.
“Having said that, the Executive on their part have taken some steps to make sure that the lives of the Internally Displaced Persons are being taking care of through the development of national policy on IDPs.
“This has been done to make sure that activities around the IDPs are governed by the framework. The government also through legislative intervention has provided for a commission for protection and rehabilitation of IDPs and we call it NCFRMI as a result of a Bill we passed in 2022 to strengthen it.
“The objective of the commission is to serve as an institutional framework to coordinate resettlement to handle rehabilitation and also look at livelihood restoration initiatives for communities affected by the conflicts or displacement. The commission, we must commend, has taken steps to making sure that the objectives of the establishment of the commission are achieved.
“We have the Keffi example and Kano state example which demonstrate concrete progress in the resettlement and livelihood of these displaced persons.
“These efforts are targeted towards integrating the affected communities into sustainable economic activities and blueprint for nationwide rehabilitation approach. The commission has established what we call the resettlement city and has used that resettlement city in Keffi to absolve almost 300 internally displaced people.
“They have also handed over in the last few days 40 brand new homes and Chairman of this particular commission is promising that more will be done in the coming days. This means that the government is in support in making sure that the lives and livelihood of these IDPs are well taken care of”, Kalu said.
While emphasizing the need for the domestication of the legislations, Kalu also said that government was evolving formidable mechanisms to address the root causes of the displacements.
“The laws must be domesticated and ones the laws are domesticated, the elements that affect their participation will be highlighted, and that’s why we are pushing hard through partnership and collaboration with various MDAs, international organizations to push for this domestication to take place as soon as possible. The government must be commended, even without the domestication of Kampala Convention, steps are being taken through national policy on IDPs and this commission to make sure the lives of people who are affected are taken care of.
“There’s this conversation that has been going on. Beyond this implementation, the root causes of conflict, how do we handle that beyond this IDPs? I have led a conversation at Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) on setting up a model for post conflict for sustainable peace framework so that there will be no repeat. We dont want those we have handled as IDPs to go back to IDP camps after that, which means, the root causes. Something must be done to make sure there’s no repeat. So, we should look at the sociological issues that gave birth to these conflicts and displacements and find a way to handle them ahead of time by setting up frameworks that will give sustainable peace. So, there will be no repeat”, Deputy Speaker explained.
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