Senate has urged the Nigerian Government to immediately resettle over 1.5 million displaced persons of Gwer-West, Markurdi, and Guma Local Government of Benue State to their ancestral homes, to avert imminent humanitarian crises in the State.
Senate resolution was a sequel to the adoption of a motion at plenary sponsored by Sen. Zam Tartenger (APC- Benue).
The country’s Upper Chamber also called on the Nigerian Government to redeem the ₦10 billion promise made to the people to rebuild their already destroyed communities.
Senator Tartenger in his lead debate recalled that farmers of Gwer-west, Malardi, and Guma Local Government areas of Benue state have been sacked and displaced by bandits masquerading as herders in the last seven years.
This, he said had resulted in the people being taken abode at camps under deplorable and excruciating conditions at Naka, Agagbe, Ahagena North Bank, Daud, Umanger, and Ghajingba in Gwer-west, Makurdi, and Guma Local Government Areas respectively.
Senator Tartenger said that “the continued stay of the people at the camps potentially exposes them to humanitarian crises, outbreaks of diseases, and other health challenges.”
According to him, statistics from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BENSEMA) indicated that as at September 2022, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Benue State stood at 1,597,000 persons.
The lawmaker expressed worry that catering to the huge population was beyond the financial strength of the state government.
Senator Tartenger further expressed worry that, between January and October 2022, 560 children living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps scattered in Gwer-West, Makurdi, Guma, and other parts of Benue as reported by BENSEMA were malnourished.
He said that the immediate past Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo who had paid a sympathy visit to Benue in 2015 promised the people the sum of ₦10 billion for resettlement of the displaced people.”
According to him, the promise has unfortunately been kept in breach.
In its resolution, the Senate further urged the Chief of Defence Staff to immediately facilitate and supervise the quick return of all displaced persons to their ancestral homes and provide a sustainable security corridor to all flash points within the affected communities.
It also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to provide medical, Food, and other relief materials to the displaced persons.
It would be recalled that in 2018, the Nigerian government approved a rehabilitation fund of ₦10bn for victims of killer herdsmen attacks in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states, as part of efforts to resettle thousands of IDPs.
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made this known during a visit to IDP camps in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
He told over 34,000 IDPs who are taking refuge at the Abagana camp that the government is doing everything possible to ensure they are immediately resettled in their ancestral homes.
Osinbajo who also promised to supervise the rehabilitation process, announced a three-point solution of providing adequate security for the communities, rebuilding destroyed homes, and restoring farmlands currently being occupied by invading herdsmen to enable food production.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
