The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has distributed assorted relief materials to internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by banditry attacks and windstorm in three local government areas of Nasarawa State.
The intervention, carried out in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA), benefited displaced persons in Obi, Doma and Keana local government areas.
Speaking at the distribution ceremony in Lafia, the representative of the Director-General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, conveyed the condolence of the DG to the affected persons.
Umar, who was represented by Felix Adua of the Jos Operational Office, said NEMA, as a federal agency, always wants people to live in peace.
“NEMA, as a federal agency, always wants people to live in peace. If we are all living in peace, we will not have this issue of displacement,” he said.
He noted that what was lost by the victims is more than what the federal government is giving, stressing that the items are only meant to cushion the effect of the banditry attacks.
“The Director-General wants everyone, whatever has happened to them, to sheath their swords and live in peace. Peaceful coexistence is the best. If you are not living in peace, there cannot be development.”
Umar commended the Director-General of NASEMA, Barr. Benjamin Akwash, for always being on his toes to ensure the people of Nasarawa are not left behind and for always alerting the federal government to situations in the state. He also thanked the Governor of Nasarawa State for backing the state agency.
He cautioned beneficiaries against selling the relief items, urging them to take them home and use them for their intended purpose.
He thanked the state government, community leaders, security agencies and other stakeholders present at the event.
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Earlier, the Director-General of NASEMA, Barr. Benjamin Akwash, explained that the intervention followed a directive from the Governor of Nasarawa State after his attention was drawn to the plight of displaced persons across the state.
“He directed the agency to visit the affected areas and conduct a robust assessment exercise. We undertook the exercise, and we realised that indeed, there were internally displaced people,” Akwash said.
He said NASEMA reached out to NEMA through its Jos operational office, and both agencies conducted an extensive joint assessment, which culminated in the delivery of the relief materials.
Akwash described the intervention as a fulfilment of government’s constitutional responsibility for the protection of lives and property, maintenance of law and order, and enhancement of the welfare and security of the people.
“There is this saying that a hungry man is an angry man. Unless and until people are fed, there is virtually nothing that they can do,” he said.
He urged beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items to lessen the effect of displacement and called on residents to continue to support the government so that the government can reciprocate the gesture.
In his response, the Chairman of Obi Local Government Area, Isah Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues in the affected councils, commended the Federal Government and state government for the intervention.
The items, which included 50kg bags of rice, bags of beans, mats, mattresses, blankets and nutrient packs, will go a long way in cushioning the impact of the disaster on the people.
He urged the federal government to expand the scope of the intervention to cover all the affected persons, adding that over 200 households were affected by the windstorm in his LGA of Obi alone. He stressed that the items on ground cannot go round the affected persons.
