#TrackNigeria: Victims Support Fund (VSF) has reconstructed a number of public infrastructure in the insurgency ravaged North East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and parts of Benue and Taraba states.
Dr Sunday Ochoche, Executive Director of VSF, disclosed this on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) flagship programme, NAN Forum, in Abuja.
Ochoche said that the organisation had focused serious attention on schools, hospitals and other government infrastructures in the affected states.
He explained that as part of its effort to expand the scope of its intervention, VSF had extended its services to Benue and Taraba states where farmer-herdsmen crisis affected many public infrastructures.
“We have reconstructed all the school in Dikwa in Borno state, we reconstructed all the schools in Bama in Borno state, we have reconstructed eight schools in Michika Local Government in Adamawa.
“Between Damboa, Askira/Uba, Chibok, Hawul in southern Borno state, we have reconstructed 16 schools in these local governments.
“In Madagali and Hong Local Governements in Adamawa, we have reconstructed eight schools in addition to that of Michika.
“When you come to Yobe, we have reconstructed the biggest school in Yobe, the Gaidam school, we just finished reconstructing, the boarding school in Babangida, we have just finished reconstructing and a total of eight other schools have just been reconstructed.
“We just commissioned the biggest secondary school in Taraba State, the Government Secondary School in Takum that we started everything from the scratch, it’s today easily the best school in Taraba State.
“Similarly, for the first time, the committee decided because of the increasing insurgency in the north central part of Nigeria, to support a request from the Benue state government to help reconstruct some of the facilities following the herdsmen-farmers’ crisis.
“We went into Benue and we have reconstructed a total of 23 educational structures in Benue.
“All schools in Gwoza today have been reconstructed; all schools in Ngala today, have been reconstructed; all schools in Damasak in Mombar LG have been reconstructed by Victims Support Fund,’’ he said.
Ochoche said that the fund had also reconstructed a number of local government headquarters destroyed by the Boko Haram in Borno.
He added that VSF was in the process of building six completely new schools in communities in Gombe state where there are a huge number of IDPs.
“We reconstructed a local government headquarters in Dikwa, the general hospital in Dikwa, we reconstructed a local government headquarters in Bama and in Adamawa.
“From the scratch we designed a completely new local government secretariat for Michika and it is today the biggest and the most beautiful local government secretariat in Adamawa state.
“We are doing the same right now for Potiskum, we are doing the same for Fika in Yobe state.
“So we have carried out massive reconstruction activities across especially Borno, Adamawa, Yobe with some as well in Taraba,’’ he said.
Ochoche disclosed that the fund had secured a partnership from the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to furnish some of the schools being reconstructed in the region.
He added that of the eight schools reconstructed in Bama, six were being furnished by PPPRA, saying that the agency would continue to furnish others.
“We look forward to other agencies that would work together with to partner to bring to reality the desire to make life better for these victims.
“Like I said earlier, the presidential committee is very much aware that the number one mandate given by the president is to raise funds and keep it sustainable.
“Post conflict reconstruction usually takes longer than the conflict itself,’’ he said.
VSF was founded in 2014 by the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan to mobilise sustainable funding and building partnerships for the support of victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. (NAN)
