National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Monday, distributed relief materials to 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Taraba State.
Director-General of NEMA, Air Vice Marshal Muhammadu Muhammad (retired) made this known at the official flag-off of the distribution of the items to the beneficiaries in the 16 local government areas, held in Jalingo.
Muhammad, who was represented by Mr. Maidalla Iliya, NEMA Head of Operations, Adamawa/Taraba Operations Office, said the items comprised of both food and non-food materials.
The D-G explained that the gesture was in line with the agenda of Hajiya Sa’adiya Farouk, the Minister of Humanitarian, Disaster Management and Social Development, on bringing succor to the internally displaced persons in the country.
He, however, said the items which include Rice (12.5kg), beans (25kg), vegetable oil, beverages, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets among many others were to be distributed to all the 16 local government areas of the state.
Muhammad also said the approval was granted based on the assessment carried out earlier by a disaster assessment team in the agency which visited all the crisis-affected areas in the state. He advised the beneficiaries not to feel that they were compensated by the government, but those items were provided just to relieve them and sustain them for a moment.
Muhammad therefore, gave assurance that the materials would get to the genuine persons they were meant for, adding that the agency had developed a mechanism for ensuring efficient delivery of items to the targeted persons.
“Our staff has been deployed to all the IDP camps in the state to ensure efficient delivery of relief items to the targeted people.”
Earlier, Mr. Taninga Binga, Taraba State Commissioner for Special Duties and Humanitarian Affairs commended the Federal government for the assistance. He is represented by Mr. Samson Tijos, Secretary in the ministry, Binga expressed satisfaction with the quality and quantity of the materials provided by NEMA.
He also thanked the federal government for considering the request made by Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba concerning the plight of the IDPs in the state.
In his address, Alhaji Abdulnaseer Bobboji, Chairman, Jalingo Local Government Area, appealed to the Federal government to assist the IDPs with building materials as many wanted to return to their homes but was faced with the challenge of shelter.
Bobboji also appealed to NEMA and SEMA to consider the provision of more relief items to the Jalingo community which accommodated many IDPs from various local governments of the state. He thanked Governor Darius Ishaku for taking up the complaints of victims of communal crisis to the federal government, as well as the federal government for granting succor to the IDPs, adding that more is needed to be done.
The chairman urged the beneficiaries not to discriminate against nonindigenes in the IDP camps in the course of sharing the relief materials, saying that Jalingo as a state capital has accommodated IDPs from various places.
The beneficiaries said the materials would go a long way in cushioning the hardship associated with IDPs. Mrs. Dorathy Garba, another beneficiary, thanked the federal government for the gesture.
