Borno APC, PDP battle over IDPs resettlement

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno are at a battle over on-going resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The IDPs are being resettled from their Maiduguri camps to their respective local government area headquarters. The PDP in a statement by the State Publicity Secretary, Mr Amos Adziba called for the probing of the huge amount of money involved in resettling the IDPs.

Reacting to PDP’s position, APC’s chairman in the state, Alhaji Ali Dalori described PDP’s call as unfortunate and a show of lack of concern for the plight of the IDPs.

The PDP had claimed in its statement that the APC-led state government could not have spent N500 million to resettle inmates of Bakassi IDP camp as claimed.

It claimed that the APC-led government was only playing politics with the issue of IDPs to score cheap political points. It added that the people of Borno were wiser with the reality on ground, particularly lack of electricity, high rate of inflation and unemployment as many businesses continued to close.

APC chairman, however, stated that the PDP that had been comatose in Borno needed to join other stakeholders in supporting the IDPs resettlement programme instead of using its plight to play campaign politics.

“While people, irrespective of party or faith, including international organisations are hailing government’s measures in tackling insecurity, our brothers in the PDP, for reasons best known to them have chosen to be petty by choosing to politicise security matter.

“I want to urge them to show patriotism as citizens of Borno where we choose to work collectively for peace and progress by supporting the process and bringing their contribution to support the IDPs as other stakeholders home and abroad are doing.

“I don’t see anything wrong in empowering vulnerable persons, particularly IDPs that were given N100,000 per head of family and N50,000 for the women alongside food items,’’ Dalori said.r

Reports state that Borno government in its commitment to close all major camps in Maiduguri by the end of December has so far resettled IDPs from three major camps.

Suzan O. /NAN