The House of Representatives, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to include Taraba in ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East.
It said that the government should direct the Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to take immediate steps in that direction.
This followed a motion by Rep. Shiddi Danjuma (Taraba-APGA) on the need to include IDPs in Wukari/Ibi Federal Constituency of the state in the rehabilitation of IDPs in the North-East.
Moving the motion, Danjuma expressed concern over the seemingly interminable wave of insurgency and violent inter and intra-communal clashes being recorded in the area.
He recalled that the arrest of Kabiru Sokoto, a kingpin of Boko Haram, led to the bombing of four banks and complete destruction of Wukari.
According to him, since 2012, the constituency has been under constant siege and attacks by the insurgents, who usually camouflaged as herdsmen.
Danjuma said that due to the deplorable condition in Wukari, the IDPs from its 38 villages were currently living in shanties, adding that some of them were scattered in neighbouring Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau states.
He said that Wukari suffered the same fate as their neighbours in the North-East, but were not given proper attention because their plight was not adequate reported in the media.
“As a result, they have not received any form of assistance, rehabilitation or compensation from the Federal Government, which has focused rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa only.’’
The motion was unanimously adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara.
The house, therefore, mandated the Committees on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees and Initiatives on North-East, and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, to undertake a fact-finding visit to the constituency.
It directed the committees to ascertain the extent of devastation and make recommendations on ways to ameliorate the situation. (NAN)