The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, yesterday visited an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Wasa area of Abuja, during which he donated two trailer-loads of assorted foodstuff to the IDPs.
Dogara, who was accompanied to the Wasa camp within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) by the chairman of the House Committee on IDPs, Refugees and North-East Initiatives, Hon. Sani Zoro, and members of the North-East Caucus in the House, also called for a total end to insurgency in order for the displaced persons to return to their homes in the North-East.
The Speaker said that the items donated were provided to meet the needs of the IDPs and would be distributed among all the four IDPs camps located in the FCT, namely in Wasa, Waru, Karu and Kuje.
He noted that the federal government was doing everything possible to ensure that the war against insurgency come to an end as soon as possible.
“We have come to see the condition under which you live. Even though we came with items that we want to give out to you, we know that merely handing out these items is not enough.
“As a matter of fact, there is nothing we can do here that will be enough because, coming from the region where I come from, our hearts are always on our land.
“I know that as long as you are not back to the communities where these crises forced you out of, even if we give you the whole world you will not be happy.
“It is unfortunate what has happened and I want to condole with some of us who have lost husbands, sons, daughters and wives; the government will ensure the war is brought to an end,’’ Dogara said.
The Speaker also told the IDPs that the House of Representatives had considered the plights of the IDPs and thought it necessary to establish a dedicated committee that will find a lasting solution to their plight including the ongoing consideration of a North-East Development Commission Bill.
A breakdown of the items donated by Dogara shows that all the IDPs camps in Abuja will share 250 bags of rice, 250 bags of beans, 550 bags of maize, 600 bags of millet, 80 bags of sugar, 100 bags of salt, 100 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 200 cartons of Noddles, and 1,400 parcels of clothing.
