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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has assured Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that both the Executive and the Legislative arms of government were working assiduously to address their plight.
Gbajabiamila who gave the assurance during a visit to Maiduguri to assess the conditions of the IDPs, said the Federal Government was more than committed to ensure that all IDPs were reunited with their families.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of his visit to Maiduguri, as the Speaker of the House, and that as a government, they would work together to see an end to the issue.
“If you see me, if you see the House, then you see the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want you to take it away. I stand here as the Speaker of the House, but we are one government. The President is aware that I’m here. We are one government, and we speak with one voice. Whatever comes under my voice, is coming from Mr President,” he said.
“We will work together as one government. We have come with Principal Officers of the House. That tells you the importance that we attach to this assignment, including the Minority Leader and opposition leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, is here. That tells you that the issue of IDPs, the issue of terrorism is not an APC thing, it is a joint task between all parties, and Insha Allah (by the grace of God), this will become a thing of the past.”
He urged all the internally displaced persons to keep hope alive, that government was there to support them, and would do whatever it needed to do to bring to an end their current experiences.
The Speaker also donated 1,200 bags of rice to the IDPs at their camp along Gubio road in Maiduguri, noting that, the two trucks of rice were his “little token of support.”
While expressing displeasure over the condition at the IDPs’ camp, Gbajabiamila said: “Hajj camps and even refugee camps are meant to be a stop-gap measure, not a permanent sight as it may fast be approaching here.
“It is our responsibility as a government to make sure that the almost 32,000 that inhabit this camp are gradually reduced and resettled back to their families and their homes in a not-too-distant future. We are here to give encouragement on the little succour we can as government and to see what we can do using the instrumentality of the law to address issues that concern internally displaced persons,” he added.
In his remarks, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum thanked the Speaker for the visit and the magnanimity shown in donating the rice to the IDPs, adding that the demands of his people were security, reconstruction and resettlement to enable them go back home and start means of livelihood
“I wish to express my profound appreciation to the Speaker and his entourage for the contribution they have made to the people of Borno State and indeed to the displaced communities of Borno State. What matters is not the quantum of what you have donated but the spirit behind it”, Zulum said.
