Zulum returns 639 IDP households with N58.5m support
Tada JUTHA, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state has returned 639 IDP households with the distribution of food items in Malari community of Konduga Council.
The IDP returnees were also supported with N58.5 million to meet their basic needs of life in the community.
Distributing the relief materials, yesterday, at Malari village, the Governor disclosed that the resettled households had been living in Maiduguri IDP camps for over seven years.
According to him, the resettlement exercise followed the rebuilding of 803 existing houses destroyed during the over a decade Boko Haram insurgency.
“The State’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (MRRR) under its Commissioner, Mustapha Gubio rebuilt the houses,” he said.
He also directed the allocation of N100, 000 to each of 500 community members whose houses were not part of the 803 allocated rebuilt houses.
“The sum of N50m will also be shared to the 500 IDP returnees,” he said.
While disbursing the N58.5 million, he said that 240 males will get N200, 000 each, while the 379 women will receive N10, 000 each, including bales of wrappers despite the cold weather in the community.
Besides, he noted that some of the female returnees married to the benefiting IDP male returnees.
He said the distributed food items were donated by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) to support all returnees.
Each household was given a bag of rice, maize, a gallon of cooking oil and a mattress.
He pledged dignified resettlement of IDPs and refugees who fled to neighbouring countries in the wake of attacks between 2013 and 2014.
The Commissioner of MRRR, Gubio assured Zulum of his Ministry’s focus in ensuring the resettlement in line with the yearnings of the people.
In their separate speeches, top personalities from communities in Konduga Local Government Area, notably APC State Chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori, member representing Konduga at the State Assembly, as well as the Chairman, Borno State Local Government Service Commission, Senator Kaka Malam Yale, all spoke about the significance of Zulum’s resettlement of Malari village which they similarly described as a milestone achievement.
Some of the community leaders also paid tribute to the Governor for relentlessly deploying measures to enhance security in different parts of Konduga.
“We thank you for the regular visits of Konduga communities with the support of IDP returnees whenever they are attacked by insurgents,” said Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Sen. Kaka Malam Yale.
He urged the communities to continue to support Zulum and cooperate with the military and other security agencies to restore peace.