The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the Federal Government’s donation of relief materials would facilitate speedy return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their communities.
Buratai said this on Wednesday at the flag-off ceremony of the distribution of relief materials to IDPs in Maiduguri.
He said the gesture was also aimed at improving their standard of living as they resettle in their communities.
He said it was also part of the efforts of both the federal and state governments to quickly ameliorate the suffering of the people.
The Army Chief said that the initiative would also support the military activities in the liberated communities.
He said that apart from the engagement in a broad spectrum of combat operation in the North East, the Nigeria Army, on its part, had undertaken several quick impact projects from it meagre resources aimed at mitigating the suffering of persons in communities.
“And to you the beneficiaries of this gesture, I appeal to you to show understanding in the efforts of government at attending to your needs.
“Sometimes things may appear to be slow in coming to you but I want you to understand that your interest remains paramount in the agenda of government,” he added.
Buratai urged the IDPs not to hesitate to report any suspicious individuals to the camp officials .
He commended the management of the Nigeria customs Service for initiating the relief distribution scheme to IDPs across the country.
The Chairman National logistics committee on distribution of Relief Materias to IDPs, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Sanusi Umar, said that another set of relief materials would be distributed to Borno State IDPs in another two months.
Umar said that the donation of relief materials in Borno state ended the first phase of the distribution across the country.
” Our task as committee is to distribute seized goods that have been forfeited to the Federal government to IDPs in the country,” Umar said.
The Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, commended the Federal Government for donating 10,000 tonnes of grains in addition to 0ther relief materials given to IDPs in the state.
Shettima said that the present administration had done everything to ensure that normalcy had retuned to the state.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that itmes donated included 19,395 bags of rice, 6,281 gallons of vegetable oil,1,000 cartoon of soap, 22 bags of sugar and 360 bales of used clothes.