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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Benue State government has held a stakeholders’ meeting to review and validate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) policy document that aims to improve the welfare of the displaced population in the state.
The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management in Benue State, Aondowase Kunde, who addressed the stakeholders at the two-day policy validation meeting in Makurdi on Thursday, July 17, said the meeting was aimed at evolving a policy document that will guide the implementation of the state’s durable solutions for IDPs, which include the return, resettlement, and reintegration of the persons of concern.
Kunde said the document, which was passed into law by the National Assembly, needs to be domesticated in the state in line with the peculiarities of the state.
Also speaking, the chairman of the House Committee on Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Benue State House of Assembly, Mr James Abu Umoro, assured that anything concerning the IDPs in the state would receive an accelerated hearing in the House when presented by the executive arm of government to ensure that the people are returned to their ancestral homes.
He said the issue of IDPs in the state is a concern to everyone and must be given fast-tracked consideration.
The Director General (DG) of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for Benue State, John Akuse, said the validation of the IDP policy document is vital in paving the way for the displaced population to be adequately taken care of regarding their peculiar needs.
He recalled that “the state launched the Benue State Action Plan on Durable Solutions, which empowers the state governor to start relocating the IDPs in the state to their ancestral homes.
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“But that document needs to be preceded by a law that covers how it is going to be implemented, and that is why we are here today. The national government has a policy on IDPs, which the state government is trying to domesticate. So what we are doing up to this moment is to ensure that the domesticated policy document takes into account Benue State issues.
“We are at the validation stage now, and at the end of the meeting, we are going to come out with a document that is validated by the Benue people, and we would accept it as a document for the implementation of the Benue State Action Plan,” he said.
On her part, the Advocacy, Campaigns and Policy Manager, Save the Children International, Abuja, Murjanatu Kabir, said their role in the entire process is to ensure that the IDP policy is domesticated.
She explained that “in Save the Children, our concern is the children, and we are envisioning a world where every child attains its right to survival and development. The key challenges in the IDP camps are being addressed accordingly.
“We have many projects here in Benue State, and we are trying to ensure that whatever the state government is doing is in line with our goals and objectives.
“We are also trying to ensure that this IDP policy is domesticated, following all the processes of domestication of policies, and this would be like a guiding tool and the guiding document in addressing the issues that the IDPs are facing in this state.”
