May 29, (THEWILL) – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has commenced the construction of 6,000 transition shelters for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State.
This is just as the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA) has distributed relief materials, including food and non-food items, to the 14 IDP camps and persons with special needs across the state.
Acting Executive Secretary of SEMA, Sir James Iorapuu, who disclosed this while performing the distribution exercise in Makurdi on Wednesday, said IOM also deployed seven of its personnel to build the capacity of SEMA staff.
According to Sir Iorpuu, IDP camps at Baka, NEPA Headquarters and Ichwa will be merged with Abagena to enjoy the transition shelter scheme.
He listed people with special needs from the School of Deaf and Blind Vandeikya, and that of Aliade in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state to benefit from the food items.
He said through the purposeful leadership of Governor Hyacinth Alia, international bodies such as the UN, UNHRC, and IOM among others have been working with the State Government to ameliorate the sufferings of IDPs and ensure their safe return to their ancestral homes.
According to Iorpuu, on the assumption of duty, he inherited 43 staff from the past administration but recruited 219 staff and trained them to respond to emergencies and coordinate the camps.
“No more missing children in IDP camps. We inherited 7 IDP camps but discovered 14 camps among which 8 were declared unofficial by the past administration. Governor Alia directed the inclusion of the 8 camps which are benefiting from monthly food distribution,” he said.
He explained that the 13,000 Cameronian refugees currently at Ikyogen in Kwande Local Government Council have been taken care of by the Benue State Government in conjunction with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The SEMA Executive Secretary called on Benue people to heed the advice of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on flood alerts in the state and vacate to safer ground to avert being victims.
Items distributed include 2,440 bags of rice; 729 bags of 50kg beans; 160 bags of Gari; 1,520 cartoons of Indomie; 175 gallons of groundnut oil; 905 cartoons of Maggie; 185 bags of salt and 6 bags of 50kg sugar.
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