FG gives succour to Benue, as FG says it will rebuild its damaged communities

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to rebuild damaged communities in Benue to give a new lease of life to affected communities.

Osinbajo, who is in Benue on a two-day working visit, stated this on Tuesday while inspecting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps at Abagena, Daub in Makurdi and Guma Local Government Councils of the state.

He said the National Council of Food and Security would be responsible for the rebuilding of such communities.

He said already, an assessment of the communities had been made while N10 billion had been earmarked for the work.

The Vice President assured the IDPs that government would not renege on its responsibility of providing security to them.

He, however, listed three things that the government was committed to providing for them – security, rehabilitation and restoration of farmlands.

He assured those who were not farmers living in such communities of government’s assistance to enable them to resume their livelihood.

He also pledged government’s assistance to schools and promised frequent trips to the state to ensure the completion of the projects.

Osinbajo said the government had concluded plans to provide soft loans to farmers, women and market people to enable them “pick up the pieces of their lives”.

Earlier, Gov. Samuel Ortom commended the Federal Government for the deployment of additional troops to the state to combat the herders’ attacks.

He appealed for more deployments to enable the IDPs return to their ancestral homes.

The Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Emmanuel Shior, said there were eight IDP camps in the state with175,070 inmates comprising 56,671 women, 37,949 men and 80,450 children.

Responding, two of the IDPs, Angela Igbe and Jerry Bem, appealed to the Federal Government to provide adequate security to enable them return to their homes.

They lamented the termination of their academic programmes due to the attacks, adding that some of them were about to write SSCE examinations when the herders struck and ended their dreams.