By Asma’u Ahmad
The Federal Government said it is collaborating with the United Nations (UN) to rebuild the war torn North East of Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, made this known while fielding from newsmen after a high level humanitarian and emergency coordination working group meeting in Abuja.
The meeting was attended by not less than three federal ministers, eight UN directors and Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state, among other stakeholders.
Mrs. Zainab explained that the meeting was designed to address the challenges facing the restoration of normal life in the Boko Haram affected region.
She said: “The emergency response team met to identify urgent humanitarian assistance to be provided to the victims of insurgency in the North East.
“We assessed their needs and level of intervention. We have developed the 2017 humanitarian response strategy which would be launched later by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The Director of Operations, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Mr. John Ging pledged more effective partnership in delivering intervention needs.
Mr. Ging assured that all relevant international non-governmental organisations would be more useful and do more for the victims.
“The UN want to convert international solidarity into more action. We want to meet the expectations of the government and affected people,” he said.
According to him, the UN and the international community were deeply concerned with sustainable solutions in the areas of security, food/nutrition, shelter, healthcare services, education, water and hygiene as well as other critical needs of the people.
The director noted that federal government resolve to defeat Boko Haram totally had attracted international support on the urgent need to do more for the affected region.
On his part, Governor Shettima said local communities, state and federal governments are collaborating to scale up security and food interventions in all the affected areas. “A very robust security architecture have been put in place to curb the menace of Boko Haram in the North East and the country at large.
“We are closing in on the enclave of Boko Haram in the dreaded Sambisa forest. We have crossed the rubicorn and we shall sustain the fight,’’ Shettima said.
Newsmen also report that the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Jummai Alhassan, and that of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohmmed, featured at the briefing.
The UNOCHA has estimated that not less than 5.1 million have been severely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and were in dire need of various humanitarian assistance.
