Govt. sats 90 per cent of displaced persons are back home

Mr Haruna Furo, Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, said on Sunday that about 90 per cent of Internally Displaced Persons in the various camps in the state had returned home.

Furo, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola, said the affected persons were from seven local government areas of the state.

``Following recapturing of the areas and return of normalcy, about 90 per cent of the displaced persons in the camps have left.

``The displaced persons that remain in the camps are those whose villages are at the fringes of Sambisa, who felt it is still not safe to go back home,’’ Furo said.

Also an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the state, Sa'ad Bello, told NAN that the displaced persons that remained at the camps were those recently evacuated from Cameroon.

``With the return of peace in parts of the North East, many displaced persons have left the camps on their own; we assisted some of them with food and transport to go back home," Bello said.

Bello said some of the displaced persons were however staying with their relations and friends.

He said that NEMA in collaboration with the state government and other international organisations, have been working to put some basic things, such as hospitals and schools in place for the returnees.

``We are providing the returnees with little support, while resettlement and rehabilitation of the affected villages will be handled by the Presidential Committee," Bello said.

NAN recalls that the Adamawa House of Assembly had passed a bill establishing the State Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency.

The agency to be funded by the state government, would reconstruct damaged facilities and residential houses in Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, Mubi South, Maiha, Hong and Gombi.The bill, sponsored by Mallam Hassan Barguma (APC-Hong) was aimed at alleviating the suffering of the affected communities.