Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has inaugurated 804 houses and 2, 674 livestock to resettle displaced persons in Ngarannam community and other villages in Borno State.
The community resettlement houses were built by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the State government under the regional stabilization facility (RSF) projects.
The livestock for breeding and fattening comprise cattle, goats and sheep to restore the livelihoods of resettled Internally Displaced Households (IDHs).
Commissioning the UNDP housing projects, at the weekend, in Mafa town, Prof. Gambari, disclosed: “The completed housing estate is furnished with a health centre, police station and market to sell fattened livestock and to restore IDP returnees’ livelihoods in the liberated communities of Mafa council.”
He added that the RSF support was from Germany, Sweden, UK, Netherlands and the European Union (EU).
The Borno state government is building 304 houses out of which; 204 have been completed, while 100 housing units are ongoing for inauguration by the end of this year.
According to him, the UNDP has 500 houses funded through RSF projects.
He noted that out of the 500 housing units, 360 were completed with 140 ongoing for completion by the end of 2022.
He added that the RSF was to facilitate the implementation of the regional strategy for the stabilization, recovery and resilience of areas affected by the 13-year Boko Haram insurgency.
He said the insurgency affected areas include the Lake Chad Basin Communities in Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Nigeria.
“The RSF facilitates the restoration of security and livelihoods to insurgency affected communities in the Lake Chad Basin,” he said.
The Ngarannam Community in Mafa was severally attacked by Boko Haram; forcing many residents to flee for safety in some of the IDP camps in Maiduguri.
The UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya, and representatives of ECOWAS, EU, and Embassies of Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, also delivered their goodwill messages in solidarity with the people of the state and support of the housing projects.
Responding, Zulum said that Borno was highly indebted to the UN and other humanitarian and development partners for their enormous support.
He commended the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who had visited Borno in May, 2022, as part of his relentless support for Borno’s stabilization from the over a decade terrorism that claimed many lives and property.
Prof. Gambari, the guest of honour for the housing inauguration, also conveyed the president’s gratitude to all humanitarian and development partners.
According to him, Buhari’s administration would continue to provide the needed support to the government of Borno and the rest of the northeast to be fully stabilized.
Meanwhile, Governor Zulum distributed food items and 2,674 cattle comprising 873 cows and 1,801 goats as livelihood support for families that are resettled in the Ngarannam two housing estates.
He said that 437 male heads of households were to each have a pair of bulls and heifer, while 64 female heads of households were to each receive a pair of a female and male goat.
Besides, he added that 503 housewives were each to get a pair of she-goats and one he-goat.
According to him, all the resettled households are also each to get two 50 kg bags of rice and maize, a gallon of vegetable oil, a mattress, plastic mat, blanket and clothing materials.
He added that each of the households, including the female heads of households is to get N100, 000 through a micro-finance bank.
He urged the households to make good use of the funds for economic activities to restore their livelihoods.
