From: Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
No fewer than 10,500 out of 79,000 victims of Boko Haram insurgency taking refuge in Cameroon have arrived Borno State following their forced exit by the Cameroonian government.
Governor Kashim Shettima, while receiving the new Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yunusa Mustapha Maihaja, berated the Cameroonian authority for not honouring agreement on the Nigerian refugees.
“The Cameroonian authority has not been honourable in keeping the agreement signed with Nigeria and UNHCR on our people in their country,” Shettima said.
He said 3, 500 people have arrived Pulka and 7,000 people now Banki. He disclosed that the state deputy governor will led other government officials to Bama to renovate a public school and another public building to serve as a camp for the refugees. He said he has already directed the state transport corporation to release vehicles for the movement of the refugees to Bama and the state environmental agency to commence cleaning of the area.
He said the humanitarian challenges in the state were very huge and overwhelming, but assured that the government was determined to overcome them. “We are posed to address the problem,” he added.
The governor also vowed to construct the Ngala-Kala/Balge Road where military fighter jet mistakenly fired at IDPs in February. He described the area as the most underdeveloped in Nigeria, saying the closest the people have with the government is during electioneering
“If there is any legacy that I want to leave behind after our tenure, it is to ensure the construction of Ngala-Kala/Balge road and Chibok-Shani.
NEMA DG, Yunusa Maihaja noted that the nearly seven years insurgency had taken a toll on Borno and its people but assured that the agency would give the needed support to put the state back on track.