The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has urged the Nigerian government to step up response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the Boko Haram insurgency.
The body also called on Federal Government to scale up disbursement of the one billion dollars Nigeria pledged at the Oslo conference from the states and the national levels.
Mr Matthew Rycroft, President of the UNSC for March 2017 and leader of the delegation to Nigeria, made the appeals on Monday in Abuja at a news conference on the team’s visit to Nigeria and Lake Chad Basin region.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that donors pledged more than 670 million dollars at a UN-backed humanitarian Conference on Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region.
The conference was hosted by Norway on Feb. 24 in conjunction with Nigeria and Germany to mobilise aid operations in the region.
Rycroft, who is the UK Ambassador to the UN, explained that the mission of the UNSC to Nigeria was aimed at enabling the Security Council get first-hand information on the humanitarian crisis in the region.
He noted with concern that the humanitarian crisis in the North East of Nigeria was unfolding on the scale that was hardly imaginable.
Rycroft said the UNSC aimed to shine spotlight on the crisis so that the whole world, including the governments of Lake Chad region would step up response, before it is too late.
However, the envoy commended the hard work made by Nigerian armed forces and the multinational joint task force towards combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the region.
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting the efforts to root out terrorism out of the region.
“We stand with the government and the people of this region and in particular the government of Nigeria in confronting the Boko Haram terrorism.
“We commend the effort of the governments of this region to coordinate together and to fight the Boko Haram and we encourage them to reinforce the effort until the job is done.
“We encourage the government to step up to disburse the $1 billion that they pledged to the Oslo conference from the state level and the national level.’’
Ms Michele Sison, the U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative in UN, described the Lake Chad Basin crisis as a “complex crisis which deserves a complex and holistic response’’.
She therefore advised the government of Nigeria to ensure that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees return voluntarily to their respective communities and that all necessary services are in place before their return.
According to her, the U.S. would continue supporting the Nigerian government and its people in their fight against terrorism and extremism.
“The UNSC support Nigeria in bringing peace back to the North Eastern Nigeria and the affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin region,” she added. (NAN)
IAA/MST