Gov. attributes challenges in the North to illiteracy, poverty

Gov Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State on Monday attributed the security challenges bedevilling the Northern part of the country to illiteracy and poverty.

Abubakar said this in Bauchi while exchanging views with the Minister of State, Budget and National Planing, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who paid him a visit at the Government House, Bauchi.

He said that high level illiteracy and poverty had dragged many youth into joining groups of insurgents that were inflicting pains on the people, especially in the North East Sub-region.

Abubakar said that unless something was done to reverse the trend, the problem might continue.

Commenting on some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) currently taking refuge in the state, he said that there was no permanent camps for IDPs in the state.

The governor explained that all the IDPs were currently been accommodated by their host communities.

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He commended the federal government over some of the relief materials it has assisted the IDPs with in the state.

The Minister of State, National Planing, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, had earlier told the governor that she led a Federal Government team to the state to flag-off distribution of food items to IDPs in the state.

Ahmed said that the items were provided under Federal Government Special Intervention for Bauchi State, adding that 54,048 households would benefit from the gesture.

She said that the intervention would be done on a quarterly bases to ease the hardship being faced by the victims.