Embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki has hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigating and arresting a contractor who diverted 60 trucks of grains that were allocated to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State by the federal government.
This was disclosed in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.
Saraki condemned the actions of individuals who were attempting to enrich themselves off the plight of the IDPs.
“I have been to the zone twice in the past 14 months and I have experienced firsthand that the IDPs need as much food as they can get. It is utterly immoral for someone to withhold food – in an attempt to enrich himself – while women and children are starving,” Saraki said.
“What is clear right now is that we cannot do this alone,” he added, “This is why we need to ensure that we put everything that we can in place to ensure that the international community is involved at maximum capacity.”
Saraki added that he was already making consultations on whether or not to call a Senate public hearing to deliberate on the government’s response to the IDP crisis, which many observers have called a looming humanitarian crisis – if not properly addressed.
“If we all have to sit down with the various stakeholders at the Senate to find out what the institutional and logistical hindrances are, that’s what we are going to do,” the senate president stated, “It is not enough for us to say that there is a problem, we need to push out solutions quickly; hunger will not wait for anyone.”