By Chimezie Godfrey
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, in collaboration with the Ministry for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have appointed a four-member committee to develop modality for enhancing the welfare of 26,460 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), living in 41 camps in the FCT.
In a statement made available to Newsdiaryonline on Tuesday, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, disclosed that members of the committee are AVM Aliyu Shinkafi, the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Mrs Florence Nkechi, the Director Rehabilitation in the Ministry.
According to her, those nominated to the committee by the ministry of the FCT are the Special Assistant to the Minister of State, FCT, Professor M.T Usman and the Director of the FCT Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Abbas Idriss.
“The committee is to harmonise mechanisms for ensuring that the IDPs get the best services from the two ministries in discharging their responsibilities to them.
“The decision to form the committee was one of the outcomes of a discussion during a courtesy call on the FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bello, on Tuesday,” she said.
While briefing the Minister of the FCT, Farouq explained that the mandate of her Ministry, include the coordination of National and International humanitarian efforts, the creation of institutional and legal frameworks for humanitarian policy, effective implementation of the four components of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) and the optimization of the generation of funding for humanitarian activities.
She revealed that she sought for close collaboration from the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory to give the IDPs camped in the Territory training in various skills, rehabilitate them properly and ensure that those desirous of returning to their homes in the North East do so.
In his remark, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammad Musa Bello, asked his counterpart in charge of humanitarian affairs for full cooperation and collaboration to give maximum care and uplift the wellbeing of the Internally Displaced Persons living in the territory.
Bello said that the Ministry has been providing healthcare services, food stuff, accommodation, training in various skills for the IDPs, while 1060 of their school-age children have been enrolled in FCT Primary Schools in the Territory.
