The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has appealed to leaders of the Lake Chad Basin member-countries to redouble their efforts toward addressing the challenges facing refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Media in the Office of the Wife of the President, Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo.
The statement said that Mrs Buhari made the appeal while speaking at a meeting with President Mahamadou Yousufu of Niger Republic, in Niamey.
The statement also said the wife of the president was represented at the meeting by the wife of Kebbi state governor, Mrs Zainab Bagudu, the leader of her technical committee.
Mrs Buhari said that the committee was in Niamey to conceptualise the proposed mobilisation of stakeholders for greater attention to the plight of refugees and IDPs.
The statement quoted Mrs Buhari as saying that, most of the refugees and the IDPs in the region were women and children “that are more vulnerable” and thereby needed urgent attention.
In his remarks, President Yousufu pledged to support the initiatives of the wife of Nigeria’s President and her Nigerien counterpart.
The statement said the technical committee also met with Mrs Malika Yousufu, wife of the Niger Republic President, ahead of the December’s deliberations meant to bring succour to the refugees in the Lake Chad Basin countries.
“The committee also agreed to widen the scope of its intervention to include Benin Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
“It is to address the humanitarian crises concerning refugees in those countries which share borders with countries in the Lake Chad basin.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Buhari has championed advocacy for special attention to the plight of the IDPs and victims of insurgency through her “Future Assured” and “Get Involved” initiatives. (NAN)