Nigerian Government has begun the relocation of Persons of Concern (POCs), to resettlement cities.
Forty Households which comprise about three hundred Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons were relocated to the Keffi Resettlement City in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria.
The Federal Commissioner, Tijjani Ahmed said the move was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu to ensure that everyone within the confine of Nigeria lives in safety and dignity by integrating the displaced persons into their host communities.
“We’ve visited the Emir of Keffi to inform him of the activities ongoing in the Resettlement City and we hope that immediately after the fasting period, he’ll have an elaborate ceremony where they’ll be properly reintegrated into the community around the city.”
The Federal Commissioner also noted that providing the POCs with durable solutions through empowerment programmes like skill acquisition and grants, is the Commission’s major aim.
“So that they can have what they can live on for their livelihood. This is one of the major reasons for coming here today, to inspect the City better now that they’re here and see if there are areas that need to be fixed.”
According to him, the Commission had made arrangements with some Security outfits to protect the Persons of Concern.
“Including the State Universal Education Board, the Primary Health Care Development Agency to help us with some staff to give them some sense of belonging, raise their hope and allow them to live in dignity.”
Responding to questions from Voice of Nigeria Correspondent on whether there are plans to expand the Resettlement City to accommodate more Persons of Concern.
“The Keffi Resettlement City is very viable and we can see that there’s space to accommodate more, so we’ll build more houses within the City to accommodate more refugees than IDPs,” Ahmed stated.
He disclosed that the criteria used for allocating the houses and relocating the POCs were based on the indication of interest and a first-come, first-serve formula.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for renewing the hope of the destitute.
One of the refugees from Cameroun, Earnest Cho said he was impressed with the setting of the resettlement City.
“It’s not just about it being a settlement city, but the fact that it’s a farming community gives me joy because I love farming. It will give me that opportunity to go into farming rather than being in the City where life is exaggeratedly expensive, especially in Abuja. Again, the fact that I’m having free accommodation allows me to do a lot of things.”
Food and Non-food items including mattresses, cooking seasonings, Rice, spaghetti, Beans, and cooking stoves were distributed to every household.
Comments are closed.