FG to Commence Airdrop of Relief Materials to Inaccessible Areas of Borno

By Michael Olugbode

The federal government will commence massive airdrop of relief materials to dangerous and inaccessible areas of Borno State, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, has said.

The minister, who was in Maiduguri weekend to deliver relief materials to the state, told the Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, who represented the Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, that: “The process of coherently addressing vulnerability of affected communities requires that we adopt a ‘humanitarian-development- peace nexus’ approach within all our structures, systems, processes, and policy environment.

“Humanitarian action, social inclusion and protection policies and programmes, as well as, peace-building structures, must not be implemented as silo or serial processes. They are all required to occur in a concurrent and cohesive manner, to ensure economic and social stability.

“The NHCC (National Humanitarian Coordination Committee) and my ministry will work closely with the Borno State Government and other humanitarian stakeholders with the core objective of alleviating and limiting the vulnerability of affected populations in Borno State and the rest of Nigeria.

“We have noted and are aware that due to the recent restriction of movement to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic and inaccessibility of communities due to floods and insecurity; vulnerable persons, especially the IDPs, may require further support in terms of basic necessities including food from the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

She said the federal government will meet the needs of the vulnerable people in Borno State and has brought 26,067 bags of 12.5kg parboiled rice; 26,067 bags of 25kg beans; 26,067 bags of 12.5kg maize/millet; 1,304 bags of 20kg iodized salt; 2,607 – 20-litre kegs of vegetable oil; 4,345 cartons of seasoning cubes; 2,173 tin tomato cartons in 24/48 (tin/carton).

The minister noted that the food items are meant to cater for 26,067 households with a total population of 156,402.

She said: “However, to ensure that we are able to provide adequate support, I wish to request that the state government provide the necessary information required to enable collaboration with the Nigerian Air Force to drop food and non-food items in locations that have been made inaccessible due to insecurity or the recent floods.”

Umar-Farouq said that the Managing Director of North East Development Commission and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will work with the state government and provide the NHCC with the required information to ensure that the interventions provide and prioritise the needs and are sufficient for the identified vulnerable communities.

The minister had earlier visited Bauchi where she took food items to cater for 70,867 households as palliative for COVID-19.

Responding, Alhaji Kadafur said the state is indebted to the federal government for its ever present assistance.

He promised that the items delivered would be taken to the intended people.