United Nations doles out N17,000 each to 500,000 IDPs.

   The chairman of Borno State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Alhaji Ahmed Satomi has disclosed that the World Food Programme of the United Nations, UN, will be dolling out N17,000.00 each to no fewer than 500,000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the state.

Satomi, who stated this yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital said 35,000 households had so far benefited from the programme, adding that the agency planned to reach out to 1.4 million IDPs taking refuge in host communities.

   According to him, “We are targeting the most vulnerable couples, widows and those who have passed through great hardship as a result of the insurgency.

“Apart from our IDPs in the 28 camps, we also have about a million of them taking refuge in host communities of Jere and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council.

   “The token would be given to them to encourage them to start something that would enable them cater for their families to alleviate their suffering. We go to each and every of these households to obtain their biometric data of head count.”

He added that the agency planned to empower the beneficiaries with basic economic skills as well as training in entrepreneurship, stressing that, “So far we have started with Gwange 1, 2 and 3, Meri, Shettimari in the state capital.”

   Satomi also said that the state government would soon commence the distribution of food items to IDPs in the host communities.