By Amos Aar
THE Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), Dr Emmanuel Shior, has revealed that about five hundred million naira is needed on a monthly basis to take care of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the state.
Dr Shior stated this Friday at BSEMA Headquarters in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, when he flagged-off the distribution of food items to IDP camps in the state for the month of August.
The Executive Secretary, who lamented that the federal government has neglected Benue State in its intervention in states affected by insurgency, said that more people have been displaced as a result of renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen which demand more funds to fend for the IDPs.
“Food is very expensive, a truck of 25kg rice which is 1,200 bags is about N18 million”, the BSEMA boss said.
Dr Shior acknowledged the support of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, other humanitarian partners like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Doctors Without Borders, International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), ActionAid, Victims Support Fund (VSF), Community Links, BENGONET amongst others.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider Benue in federal government’s support for the humanitarian crisis rocking the state just like it has done to Borno State where about two hundred (200) humanitarian organisations have been giving assistance according to him.
“It appears the Benue state governor has been left to his fate to cater for the IDPs alone. Some people who want to be mischievous try to compare the humanitarian situation in Benue with what is happening in Borno State. It’s unfortunate for that kind of comparison because there’s no basis for it.
“Benue has been neglected, the IDPs have been neglected by the Federal Government and indeed the challenge at hand is very huge that it cannot be left with Benue State Government alone where as in Borno State, Governor Zulum enjoys tremendous support from the federal government and over 200 humanitarian partners are supporting Borno State government. All roads lead to Borno to the neglect of the situation in Benue State”, Shior alleged.
The items distributed were thousands of bags of rice, noodles, sorghum, millet and cassava floor.
