North East: FG Reiterates Commitment To Tackle Humanitarian Challenges

The Federal Government on Wednesday reiterated its commitment to address the humanitarian challenges in the North East and support  any initiative by the international community in that direction.

Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, gave the assurance in a statement by his Media Adviser, James Akpandem, in Abuja.

Udoma gave the assurance when the ambassadors of Norway and Germany, Mr Jens-Petter Kjemprud and Barnthard Schlagheck respectively, briefed him on the forthcoming International Donor Conference.

The conference is scheduled for Feb. 24 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.

The conference seeks to draw attention of the international community to the fall outs of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad region.

It also aims to gain more international support for the resultant humanitarian challenges and to secure greater political commitment from governments of the region to improve the situation.

Udoma expressed the country’s appreciation for the strong support received from Norway and Germany in the past.

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, also said that the Nigerian Government was willing to tackle the challenges of the region.

Ahmed emphasised that government had constituted a Presidential Committee to monitor effective implementation of the various initiatives.

“The Nigerian military has also recorded tremendous successes in tackling the insurgency, but the disruptions in economic activity caused by the insurgents has thrown up humanitarian challenges.”

“Addressing the problem of the region will require a more holistic approach since the challenges are partly driven by unemployment.”

According to her, the challenges have rendered youths of the region susceptible to easy drafting into insurgency.

Earlier, Kjemprud said it became necessary to engage the international community to support and fund the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the region.

Similarly, Schlagheck acknowledged and commended the Federal Government’s approach to tackling the situation.

Schlagheck said that the affected countries in the Lake Chad region would need to do more.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Norway is organising the conference, jointly with Nigeria and Germany, in collaboration with the UN.

Foreign ministers from the region, representatives of the African Union and the European Union, representatives of donor countries and the heads of UN organisations are expected at the conference.

The conference is expected to discuss food security; humanitarian protection and access to aid as well as education in situations of crisis and conflict.