Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Rev Akpen Leva has lamented the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State camps, urging all relevant authorities to come to their aid.
Speaking on Wednesday during the celebration of his birthday with the IDPs at IDP Camp 3, Daudu, Guma Local Government Area, the CAN Chairman regretted that the people, most of whom fled their ancestral homes following incessant attacks by armed herdsmen since January 2018, have stayed in the camps for too long.
He urged the Federal Government to work towards ensuring that they are returned to their homes without further delay, just as he called on individuals as well as corporate organisations to come to the aid of the IDPs.
The CAN chairman further lamented that the Federal Government’s promise to resettle the IDPs had taken too long without any hope of fulfilment in sight, a development which he noted had left them grappling with untold hardship each day.
He advised the IDPs not to lose hope in God, even as he enjoined the Christian community in the state to intensify prayers for the IDPs.
He commended the state government for the upkeep of the IDPs over the years and expressed confidence that the state government would not relent.
Rev Leva said that the choice of the IDP camp to celebrate his birthday with the IDPs was a way of deliberately identifying with them in their sufferings.
He thanked God for adding a year to his years and expressed hope that God would intervene in their situation to enable them to go back to their ancestral homes as soon as possible.
Responding on behalf of the IDPs, the camp manager, Mr Oliver Ijir, revealed that about 7,666 people were still living in Daudu IDP Camp 3 alone. He commended the CAN boss for identifying with the IDPs on his birthday and assured that the relief materials provided would be judiciously distributed to the IDPs.
Ijir also appreciated the Benue State Government, corporate organisations and good-spirited individuals that have continued to identify with the IDPs.
Earlier, Rev Dr Philip Gire in an exhortation assured the IDPs that God was with them and urged them to believe that God would certainly change their situation for the better.
Items donated to the IDPs by the CAN chairman included bags of rice, yams, noodles, clothing, footwears and toiletries among others.