The Ad-hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis has called on the Federal and state governments to ensure improved coordination and synergy for the well being of the Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East.
Sen. Shehu Sani, Chairman, the Chairman of the committee, made the call on Tuesday at a public hearing in Abuja.
He said that the synergy became necessary to make life comfortable for the IDPs.
Sani said, “ The suffering of the IDPs was not as a result of lack of funds, donations or lack of empathy.
“It is due to lack of coordination and synergy in the laudable initiatives of humanitarian crisis management by both state and federal governments.’’
“The lack of coordination can be seen in the executive’s intervention initiatives,’’ the said.
He noted that the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative was designed to integrate all actors and actions of humanitarian crisis management into one coordinated national roadmap.
He, however, observed that it had been operating independently from yet another committee.
Sani decried that IDPs were faced with multiple challenges, including lack of food, shelter and clothing and sexual abuse among women and diversion of humanitarian materials by “some unscrupulous agents of devils.”
He, however, noted with delight that international donor agencies were scaling up their humanitarian responses to the starving and malnourished children in the North-East.
Declaring the session open, President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki also stressed the need by stakeholders to strengthen humanitarian response coordination to ensure life-saving assistance to about 5 million people.
The Deputy Senate President, Sen.Ike Ekweremadu, represented the Saraki at the occasion.
Saraki, was represented by said that it was time for government to give a clear directive on which organisation was supposed to be the lead agency to coordinate the response to the ongoing crisis.
“Currently, there are two agencies the international community has been told to liaise with for the purposes of coordination.
“This is not a sustainable or functional solution. I hope government can move expeditiously to harmonise the necessary efforts with international partners,” Saraki said.
He said that with lean resources and as responsible representatives of the people, the legislators must ensure that the resources set aside for the improvement of the life of the IDPs were judiciously applied. (NAN)