NEMA donates food, non-food items to de-radicalised ex-insurgents
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Thursday donated food and non food items to no fewer than 390 ex-insurgents that graduated from the Federal Government’s De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme in Gombe State.
Mrs Zubaida Umar, the Director-General of NEMA while donating the items to the ex-Boko Haram members at the DRR Camp in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State said it was part of effort to support the programme’s success.
Umar, represented by NEMA’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Cdr. Abang Oyong, donated the items to the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brig.-Gen. Yusuf Ali for subsequent distribution to the clients.
She said that the food and non food items were given to the clients to help them to stabilise after the DRR programme and enable their seamless reintegration into the society.
She said that the Federal Government is committed to addressing insecurity in the country.
Umar commended the resilience of the armed forces for using kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the country.
She further lauded President Bola Tinubu for the political will and approving the expansion of OPSC to cover the six geo-political zones, especially with the inclusion of the North-West and establishment of DRR camp in Zamfara State.
Speaking further, Umar restated her agency’s commitment to disaster management and prevention by engaging stakeholders towards ensuring collective approach to tackling disaster-related issues in the country.
She appealed to Nigerians living around water-prone communities to evacuate those areas so as to minimise the impact of flood from this year’s rainy season as predicted by NiMet.
Earlier, Gov. Umara Zulum of Borno State commended NEMA for donating the items which he said would help the clients tackle the economic hardship as they are being reintegrated into their communities.
Represented by Zuwaira Gambo, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Borno State, Zulum said that the starter packs, food and non food items as well as the cash of N50, 000 would greatly assist the clients’ reintegration in their respective communities.
He highlighted his administration’s effort at supporting citizens of the state affected by insecurity.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to continuing with the rebuilding of communities affected by insurgency towards ensuring that Internally Displaced camps remained closed in the state.
On his part, Col. Abiodun Johnson, the Commandant of the DRR Camp, Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), said that the 390 clients graduating from the camp comprised six foreigners and 384 Nigerians who had been rehabilitated and ready for reintegration.
Johnson lauded NEMA’s and other partners’ interventions and supports would help the clients not to consider going back to crimes.
The camp commandant appealed to all host communities to embrace and help the clients reintegrate into the society, adding that there were not the same persons as they were.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that each of the clients got a starter pack according to area of training and N50,000.
The items donated include 400 bags of rice (25kg), 400 bags of maize (25kg), 400 bottles of vegetable oil, 40 cartons of seasoning, 40 cartons of tomato paste.
Others are 20 bags of iodised salt, 400 pieces of bath towels, 800 pieces of plastic plates, 800 pieces of plastic spoons.
