- The UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr Mathias Schmale, has said that the humanitarian crisis in Benue State’s IDP camps is worse than in Nigeria’s North Eastern region
- Schmale urged Governor Hyacinth Alia to assist the UN in identifying key issues to find solutions to the state’s insecurity crisis
- Governor Alia said that his administration has encountered an enormous humanitarian crisis since taking office and that a resettlement plan for IDPs is being put together
According to the United Nations (UN), the humanitarian crisis in Benue State’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps is worse than in Nigeria’s North Eastern region, particularly Borno State.
Dr Mathias Schmale, Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, made the observation while visiting Governor Hyacinth Alia at the Government House in Makurdi.
Schmale stated that the plight of some IDPs in the camps visited by his team during previous visits was worse than the situation in the country’s northeastern region.
What I see in the IDP camps in Benue are worse than what I saw in Borno, he said.
As a result, the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator urged Alia to assist his team in identifying key issues to find solutions to the state’s insecurity crisis, adding that “we are keen with the government who are willing to bring lasting solutions – relocating them (IDPs) back to their homes.”
For his part, Governor Alia bemoaned the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis that his administration had encountered since taking office.
He said;
An enormous humanitarian crisis occasioned by various forms of conflicts and natural disasters, which has left us with internally displaced persons, covering 37,412 households with a total population of 2,124,000.
Out of this number, 241,342 persons are in 13 IDP camps while the balance of 1,882,658 live within their host communities. The plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) cannot be overlooked. SEMA has been directed to put together a resettlement plan, which will be shared with your office to solicit for intervention.
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