4th May, 2017
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Thursday donated 7,312 bags of rice and other relief materials to Uhogua IDPs in Benin to alleviate their plight.
The Assistant Comptroller-General, Abdulkadir Azarema, Chairman, National Logistic Committee on Distribution of Relief Materials, handed over the items to the IDP camp in Uhogua, Edo.
Azarema said that the donation made in Uhogua marked the fourth series of donations in the third phase.
He said that the committee had already donated to the IDPs in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, adding that Benin marked the last donation in the third phase.
According to him, “we shall soon commence the fourth phase.
“It is, therefore, my pleasure to hand over the following relief items for the use of the camp.
“We hereby donate 7,312 (50kg) bags of rice; 700 jerry cans of vegetable oil; 500 cartoons of vegetable oil; 373 used cloths and 1,735 used shoes”.
Others are “1,063 cartoons of spaghetti and 2,000 cartoons of soap”.
“Provision of these items on their own does not adequately solve the IDPs challenge, no matter the quantities donated.
“The bigger challenge before us is to ensure these Nigerians return to their communities to live in peace with their loved ones without entertaining fear of attack,” Azarema said.
He commended the camp coordinator and the staff for their unrelenting efforts.
Azarema said that the NCS had paid for the transporting the materials to Uhogua, adding that the transportation of such items in the Northeast was paid by the state governments.
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo said that the initiative reflected the quality of the mind of Mr President.
Obaseki said ”President Muhammudu Buhari is somebody that is not wasteful”, adding that before now seized goods by the customs were usually destroyed.
“The quantity of the items is sizable and as a frequent visitor to the camp, I know how it feels to receive these items for the IDPs.
“As a government, we will have and will continue to support the IDPs in any way we can.
“We have built schools for them and medical facilities and other necessary things to give them a sense of belonging to have a proper life,” Obaseki said.
The Coordinator of the Camp, Uhogua, Mr Solomon Folorunsho, commended the Federal Government and the state government for their support to Uhogua IDPs.
Folorunsho said that there were over 2,000 IDPs in the camp, including women and children, adding that more than 70 of the IDPs sat for JAMB examinations.
“Our first cardinal point is transparency. In this camp, nobody has been abused, cheated or raped,” Folorunsho said.