A group, Gwoza Elite Forum, has appealed to Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, to help the indigenes of the state at the Home for the Needy Foundation, Uhogua, Ovia North East local government area of Edo State.
Over 3,000 Boko Haram displaced persons mostly from Gwoza local government area are currently living at the camp with some of them doing well in their academics.
The president of the forum, Mr Ibrahim Mbitisha, made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Home for the Needy Foundation in Edo State.
He urged the governor to extend the support he had been giving to refugees in Chad, Cameroon, Niger and other countries to the Edo foundation.
Mbitisha said, “I am calling on the executive governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, I know that the governor used to do good for the state. I heard that pastor did a letter to the Borno State Government in respect of some Indigenes of Borno State here. I Know that the governor is someone that has the heart to help his people.
“You see him in Cameroon, you see him in Chad, you see him in Niger. I am calling on the executive governor to kindly attend to our people here. Mr Governor, these people are your people. The pastor here is doing his best, but we want you to have some places repaired, so that some of them can return home. We know how you are going to other places, please do the same here.
“We are also calling on non-governmental organisations and good spirited individuals to help. When one of our brothers heard about the performance of Engr Emos Ishaku, he was surprised and sent his donation of N500,000 to the foundation,“ he said.
While eulogizing the coordinator, Home for the Needy Foundation, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, Mbitisha said, ‘We see and hear what you have been doing, but we said how can we as a forum have our brothers here and we don‘t come to see them. It touched our heart when we heard the story of one of our brothers, Engr Emos Ishaku and Barrister Saminu Abacha.
‘We have to come to appreciate the foundation because it will be unfortunate that somebody is with your brother and you are sitting somewhere without coming to say thank you. We know that it is not easy for you to feed these people, take them to school and pay their school fees.
‘I know that you have many students you are sponsoring in various institutions in this country. We heard that you paid over N 60 million to only one university. Some schools have to send some of the children away because of school fees,“ he said.
In his response, Folorunsho thanked the forum for making out time to see the IDPs. He thanked the Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki for providing an enabling environment and giving the first class graduates automatic employment in the state civil service.
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