₦airaland Forum

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has flagged off the resettlement of internally displaced persons to nine local government councils while also disbursing N954.7 million for their rehabilitation and supporting them in getting a source of livelihood.

About 12,985 comprising 4,880 male heads of household, 1,230 female heads of household, 6,875 married women and other family members were earmarked to be resettled in the nine councils, in the first phase, those to be resettled are to communities in six councils of Bama, Konduga, Gwoza, Kukawa, Jere and Ngala.
Each of the 4,880 male heads of household and another 1,230 female heads of household received N100,000, while about 6,875 married women each received N50,000 cash.

Zulum noted that while cash support was distributed, 6,875 married women also received maize, rice, and mattresses, including mats, oil, and kitchen utensils.
Zulum also stated that the food items distributed were part of the federal government’s support for the state.

According to him, “This food item we are giving to the returnees is from NEMA. A few days ago, we lunched the distribution of food items donated to the government of Borno by the federal government at Pulka.”

He added that: “I want to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want to commend the office of the Vice President, I also want to commend NEMA for partnering with us to ensure sustainable resettlement of the IDPs in this very important camp.”

Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), has threatened that the union alongside the Non-academic Staff Union of Education…
Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), has threatened that the union alongside the Non-academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) will shut down the universities in the country if the government refuses to grant their demands in the next seven days.

He disclosed this while speaking as a guest on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics.

Ibrahim said a 7-day ultimatum which will start counting from Monday (today) had been issued to the Federal Government, threatening that the two bodies would embark on a total strike if nothing was done by the government at the end of the ultimatum.

He said there would be a total shutdown of the universities if members of the non-academic staff went on strike, saying: “We are in charge of security, we are in charge of administration, we are in charge of medicals, we are in charge of hostels, we are in charge of electricity, we are in charge of everything apart from teaching. So, once our members down tools, no university can function in Nigeria.”

“It’s quite unfortunate. No union member wants to go on strike but when you are pushed to the wall, what would you do? You have to push back.

“You can see what is happening in the country. The economy is in dundrums and everybody is suffering. Most of our universities are located far outside the township and our members have to commute every day. Fuel cannot be accessed, food is scarce, our medicals can not be attended to, and members are suffering quite clearly,” he added.

Speaking about the union’s grievances, the SSANU President said, “It’s quite absurd that we have to speak like this and it is because we have been clearly shown that we do not matter in the system while we all know that there is no university that can function without the non-teaching staff.

“We are populated by professionals, we oil the engine in the administration of every university and therefore treating a segment of staff with disdain does not speak well of the system.

The Federal Government is going to establish a Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, announced on Thursday in Abuja.

Edu, who spoke at the headquarters of the humanitarian ministry, while playing host the Country Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jeremie Zoungrana, said the fund was part of measures to lift over 133 million Nigerians out of poverty and other humanitarian crises.

The minister also solicited the foundation’s technical and financial support towards achieving the task of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty and tackling the myriad of humanitarian crises across the country.

She said, “We have a huge task on our hands. As we speak now, over 16 million Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises, either man-made or natural disasters. Of course, security issues and pockets of unrest in different areas have not made this any better.



“Other natural disasters like the flooding, which we are presently going through, and the opening of a dam in another country, which will have its effect on Nigeria, are another call for attention to ensure that people are catered for.

“And then we have these unrests in all the neighbouring countries—in Cameroon, in the southern part of Cameroon—that have over 46,000 refugees coming into Nigeria. So there are over 36,000 in Cross River. We have a whole lot in Taraba and Benue along that border.”

She told her guests that the government was also dealing with other crises in Niger, with people coming to Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, among others.”