Agency, Reps donates relief materials to IDPs, call for end to insurgency

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday, restated Federal Government’s commitment to end insurgency before the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to the North-East.

Dogara said this when he visited the IDPs camps in the FCT alongside Mr Ishaya Chonoko, the Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Abuja operation Office.

The speaker, in collaboration with NEMA, who donated relief materials to be distributed among the IDPs in the FCT, said that the items were provided to meet the needs of the IDPs.

At the Wasa host community, Dogara said that the government was doing everything possible to ensure that the war against insurgency come to an end.

"We have come to see the condition under which you live.

"Even though we came with items that we want to give out to you, we know that merely handing out these items is not enough.

"As a matter of fact there is nothing we can do here that will be enough because coming from the region where I come from; our hearts are always on our land.

"I know that as long as you are not back to your communities where these crises forced you out, even if we give you the whole world you will not be happy.

"I want to condole some of us who have lost husbands, sons, daughters and wives, the government will ensure the war is brought to an end,’’ he said.

The Speaker said that the House of Representatives had considered the plights of the IDPs and thought it critical to establish a dedicated committee that will find a lasting solution to the situation.

"The problems of the IDPs cannot be solved through an ad hoc measure that is why we are proposing by law that will establish a commission for the development of the North-East.

"It is a bill that I am championing in the House and in the Senate and sooner or later, we should be able to pass that bill.

"We are not going to leave it at the level of policy; we want to translate it into law so that we can make it more permanent,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Chonoko said the relief materials were provided by the Federal Government through NEMA and the House of Representatives to meet the needs of the IDPs and alleviate their sufferings.

He said that NEMA as the coordinating agency has played a very significant role in identifying the host communities in the FCT where IDPs are settled and coordinated effectively.

"We have put in place mechanisms to ensure that the relief items get to the real IDPs.

"We use this medium to commend Nigerians that have seen the needs to assist the IDPs and have responded to their needs," Chonoko said.

Rep. Johnson Agbonayinma (Edo-PDP) said the move by the Speaker to the IDPs camp was one of the signs of change, and it was not about partisan politics, but doing what was right for the people.

"I am happy that the Speaker saw this as important, his involvement and passion on getting it right shows there is better hope for tomorrow.

"What is also important is for all Nigerians to come together and make sure that we put an end to the issue of insurgency, so that these families can go back to their constituencies," he said.

Mrs Alhasan Adamu, the Women Leader, Wasa IDPs Camp, said that she was glad to see people in government in the camp, saying it showed that they were not forgotten.

She urged the government to continue to help them and ensure their return home.

"I came to seek refuge in this camp because the terrorists killed my husband and we need more food and water to survive.

"We are thankful and also plead with the government to take us back to our village to continue our farming after the insurgency because we are all farmers," she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that items distributed include: Bags of rice, maize, Sugar, millets, Beans, vegetable oil, Wax, cartons of indomie noodles among others.