Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum on Thursday, appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to provide meaningful support for the over 8,000 repentant Boko Haram terrorists.
This is even as the Director General of the Agency, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed Habib led a delegation on a courtesy call on the governor over the official flag-off ceremony for the distribution of farm inputs to 7,386 flood victims across 11 Local Government areas affected by 2020 flood disaster.
Zulum received the delegation, which comprised directors of the agency, including the Zonal Coordinator, North-East, Wagami Lydia Madu, and representatives from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and that of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
They then proceeded to the venue of the distribution, Central Stores in Maiduguri, where Zulum commended NEMA for rendering support to the people of the state.
He said the lingering crisis has not only forced millions of people from their ancestral homes, but also affected the means of their livelihood.
He, however, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, the security agencies and the collective will of Nigerians for defeating insurgents.
He said the defeat led to thousands of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, relocated back to their liberated communities, and also forced thousands of members of the sect to surrender.
Now, he continued, the IDPs and repentant insurgents are in the custody of the State Government, a situation which has added much burden on the state to feed them.
“I am very delighted for this very important visit and choosing Borno as venue to flag-off this very important intervention. On behalf of government and people of Borno, I commend NEMA for rendering support to the people of the state since the emergence of Boko Haram which lasted for over a decade.
“I appeal to NEMA to work in collaboration with our State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the state Ministry of Agriculture to continue to support our genuine and vulnerable farmers across the state.
“I learned that you have already identified or profiled 7,386 farmers who will benefit from this farm Inputs. This is timely. But I want to add that those who are not genuine farmers should not be on the list of beneficiaries.
“Likewise, I want to appeal to NEMA to provide meaningful support for the over 8,000 repentant Boko Haram members.
This is because, the lingering crisis has not only forced millions of people from their ancestral homes, but also affected the means of their livelihood.”
He assured of the full support of the state government to ensure stabilisation and reintegration of all IDPs across the state.
The DG NEMA in his address, said the choice of Borno for the ceremony is indeed not by accident, as it is one of the heavily impacted states during the 2020 flood disaster.
His words: “We are glad to be here in Borno, been a state that has taken a frontline position in the agricultural revolution currently ongoing under the direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.”