Tinubu led administration has begun distribution of food and non-food relief materials to towns and victims of the Christmas Eve attacks by roving gunmen in Plateau State.
In addition to visiting impacted communities for an on-the-spot assessment in the affected area with her counterpart from the Ministry of Defence and service chiefs, Dr. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has already arrived in the state to coordinate humanitarian responses.
Edu also visited churches and some Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, where she spoke to worshippers and victims seeking refuge, according to a statement released on Wednesday morning by Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation’s special adviser on media and publicity.
She gave them assurances about President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to implement long-term fixes for response security and state resident resettlement. In accordance with the presidential decision, she added, humanitarian aid would be made almost instantly available. She also promised to give long-term solutions while “we rebuild” to enable them to return to their ancestral homes.
The minister added that her ministry will work with the Plateau State government and the Nigerian military to distribute the relief supplies elsewhere.
She said: “The President has asked us to come to Plateau State to see what is on ground; he has also directed the immediate deployment of relief materials, including food items like rice, grains, vegetable oil, and non-food items like mattresses, clothes, and blankets, among others, as well as other personal things they will need while we plan for more durable solutions to their needs to enable them to go back to their ancestral homes.”
Remember how, on Christmas Eve, unknown gunmen slaughtered roughly 107 people in approximately fifteen communities in the Barkin Ladi, Mangu, and Bokkos local government areas of Plateau state?
During the horrific assaults, the gunmen also set fire to at least 100 dwellings, a move that sparked widespread outrage.
The people and administration of Plateau State were guaranteed of security during the visit by the Minister of State for Defense, Muhammad Bello Matawalle, who was accompanied by the heads of the Air Force, Army, and Navy.
The two ministers and the head of the service were informed on the ground situation in a private meeting by Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
