Nigeria’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, has said that no fewer than 90 million Nigerians, representing almost half of the country’s population, live in abject poverty.
Farouq disclosed this while presenting her ministry’s 2020 budget estimates of N44.21 billion for the approval of the House Committee on Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees chaired by Mohammed Jega on Monday.
The minister said that the ministry was tasked with the responsibility of addressing some of the underlying causes, drivers and consequences of humanitarian crises and underdevelopment in the country.
The minister assured that the new ministry would strengthen the coordination of humanitarian and disaster management efforts by stakeholders.
The breakdown of the proposed 2020 budget for National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons include N474,306,285 for personnel, N165 million for resettlement of IDPs in the North East and Bakkasi returnees in the 2020 budget proposal.
Others are N15 million for 1,000 IDPs enrolment into NHIS; N105 million for renovation/rent of 21,000,000 per state; N60 million back to school fees; N105 million for drilling of boreholes; N184 million for securing land for relocation and reintegration of IDPs in FCT, Nasarawa States and N110 million for 2,200 families as return assistance to North East, among others.
The chairman of the committee assured that the budget will impact positively on all Nigerians.
“We are therefore poised for a collaborative action with the Executive arm of government to ensure that we design a performing budget that will meet the expectations of the teeming populace,” he said.
He also applauded the resolution of President Muhammadu Buhari for creating the ministry with a view to addressing the numerous humanitarian challenges in the country as a result of insurgency and other forms of conflicts.
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