The Federal Government has requested all development partners and donor agencies to immediately deploy and intervene in the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Benue.
Dr Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, made the request on Thursday in Makurdi during the distribution of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ichwa Camp.
Edu said the appeal had become imperative because of the immense sufferings being faced by IDPs in Benue State.
She said the Federal Government would officially write to the headquarters of the development partners and donor agencies within and outside the country on the need for immediate intervention in the Benue humanitarian crisis.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is requesting as a matter of emergency, all international partners, donors, agencies, UN agencies and indeed everyone in the humanitarian space to deploy to Benue.
“The humanitarian situation in Benue is unacceptable, people must be adequately resettled in their ancestral homes. The Benue Government cannot do this alone.”
She said her office would, however, monitor closely interventions by the partners in Benue in the future.
The minister said that the Federal Government had planned to start with one site for the construction of resettlement homes, but with the situation on the ground, construction would commence at two locations.
“For the next six months, all my thoughts will be about you and how to provide a solution to what is going on here. We have worked with the governor to get land to build low-cost homes for you,” she stated.
