UN denies misusing funds meant for IDPs

dimeji akinloye

January 12, 2017 9:54 AM

UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator said the challenges are enormous but there has been a lot of progress on response since October 2016.

Some displaced people in an IDP camp

Mr. Kallon said during a courtesy visit to the Executive Director of Victims Support Fund (VSF), Sunday Ochoche, on Wednesday in Abuja, that UN agencies had scaled up their presence and assistance in the area.

According to him, UN agencies have currently reached over two million people with humanitarian assistance as against barely 100,000 people as at October 2016.

"The challenges are enormous but there has been a lot of progress on humanitarian response since October 2016 when I assumed duty as the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP resident Representative to Nigeria.

"Before I came, the international community was barely reaching 100,000; however, in December, humanitarian assistance was reaching over 1 million families,” he said.

"Presently, humanitarian assistance is reaching about two million people in the North-East; there has been a huge progress so far.

"The UN system is an accountable system and if we receive a request from the Governor of Borno on what we are bringing in and what is being spent we would give that information.

"Such information is not hidden."

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Mr. Shettima had on Tuesday attacked UN organisations and over 100 nongovernmental in the north-east, accusing them of misusing funds meant for people displaced by Boko Haram crisis.

He singled out UNICEF for rebuke, but also praised eight organisations for their efforts.

On allegations of misuse of funds, the UNDP representative described it as unfair as the operations in the North-East were being executed at a cost which must be met.

dimeji akinloye