The governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has said he is determined to collaborate with the National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to resettle all IDPs in the state.
The governor’s spokesperson, Yusuf Idris, disclosed this in a statement signed and made available to journalists in Gusau on Sunday.
He said the governor stated this while hosting the National Commissioner for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Iman Suleiman, on a courtesy visit at Government House, Gusau.
Mr Matawalle said his administration will continue to support vulnerable people and will not relent in its efforts to improve their living standard despite the security challenges facing the state and Nigeria in general.
He assured that he will collaborate with the commission to resettle all the affected communities in the state to appropriate places through the state Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.
He added that the humanitarian activities of his administration are designed to cater for the internally-displaced persons who are affected by the activities of bandits in the state.
The governor also promised to do everything humanly possible to protect the lives and properties of all citizens at all levels, especially as the state is experiencing very difficult times of bandit attacks which are displacing many innocent citizens.
He also informed the national commissioner that his administration is spending a lot in the provision of assorted food and medicament to IDPs in the state.
The governor then commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving Zamfara State special attention in the construction of IDPs’ resettlement city that would accommodate a large number of persons with humanitarian concern.
In her remarks earlier, Mrs Suleiman said she was in Zamfara to flag off the distribution of relief materials to the state IDPs and to intimate the governor of her commission’s preparedness to commence construction of a resettlement city that will be used by all displaced communities.
Mrs Suleiman further said that the resettlement city is part of President Buhari’s pilot scheme that will be started in Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and Edo states with a view to reducing hardship on families displaced by the current security challenges.
She also informed the governor that humanitarian intervention that will benefit Zamfara people has been approved in the commission’s budget and will soon start manifesting in the state.