Saraki Sends Technical Team to Review Humanitarian Situation in North-east

Omololu Ogunmade in Abujai
As part of the activities marking the 2016 World Humanitarian Day, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday sent a technical team to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to conduct interviews with both domestic and international stakeholders working in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

A statement by Saraki’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the visit was meant to obtain information on the emergency relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Borno State.

According to the statement, Saraki’s team was directed to review the coordination between the Nigerian government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as the capacity of service delivery programmes and also to receive feedback from the IDPs themselves.

It added that when the team interacted with groups of committed officials and volunteers of both the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the agencies said the government was doing all it could to aid and secure the IDPs.

“However, the complexity and scale of the emergency is far beyond the government’s capacity and that Nigeria simply cannot do it by themselves,” the statement added.

Saraki further said he undertook the move following reports from aid agencies that greater international attention and a more robust response was needed to alleviate the plight of over nine million Nigerians who are in need of relief in the Lake Chad Basin area.

“We cannot afford to take for granted the sacrifice and support of both our domestic and international partners in the North-east. This is why we must all sit down as quickly as possible to plan the transition from crisis, to relief and beyond.  We must expedite the processes that are needed to bring about the recovery and rehabilitation of the entire region,” he was quoted as saying.