FG Solicits Foreign Aid to Resettle Benue IDPs

Federal Government, on Thursday, called on international partners to intervene in the humanitarian crisis in Benue State.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, made the call in Makurdi during her visit to the Ichwa Internally Displaced Persons camp.

Ichwa is one of the 13 official IDP camps located across the state.

The minister, who was moved to tears seeing the shanties where the displaced persons live, said the government would write to the headquarters of international donors to seek assistance to resettle the IDPs.

She said, “The Federal Government is intervening and we want all our international partners to come in as a matter of urgency and intervene.

“We will be keeping tabs and write to their international headquarters all around the world and their offices in Nigeria to see that they put foot on the ground in Benue State immediately and attend to these people.

“They deserve better, they are Nigerians and we must be able to join hands with the government of Benue State to take care of them.

“A lot is going on here,  but we cannot leave this work to the state government.  We want to assure the people of Benue  that they are at the heart of the President and he will do all within his power to resettle them so that they can contribute immensely to his  food security agenda and lift them out of poverty.”

Earlier, the minister laid the foundation for the construction of cluster settlements for IDPs in the state.

Speaking at the groundbreaking of the homes at Mbagwen, Makurdi Local Government Area of the state, Edu said, ‘It is time for Benue people who have cried for too long to enjoy. This is the beginning of a journey to return home.

“President Tinubu has promised to work with  Governor Hyacinth Alia to return the people home and today is the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise.”

In his speech, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, said attacks on the people had been on since 2010 and heightened in 2016.

He lauded President Tinubu for keeping to his pledge to return the people to their ancestral homes and urged the people to be patient with the government.