Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali has inaugurated a committee tasked with the distribution of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in various parts of the country.
It would be recalled that President Muhammudu Buhari had last month directed the Service to move relief materials in various customs warehouses for the use of IDPs in the country.
Ali told the committee members that the assignment, which is in fulfillment of a national call, entails the transfer of relief items in all customs warehouses directly to the IDPs in various parts of the country.
The committees’ terms of reference include planning and executing the logistics involved in the transfer, establishing contacts with existing camps for the purpose of direct handover of relief items and providing security cover for relief items on transit and in the camps before handover.
The committee is also expected to collaborate with the customs service in provision of appropriate logistics support for the operation as well as ensure that the operation is carried out with strict adherence to transparency and integrity.
Ali regretted that the insurgency has turned young Nigerians in their millions to orphans and destitute, young women to widows, while families have been traumatized and separated and properties destroyed.
He added that: “The political economy of the Northeast region which bears the major brunt of the insurgency is indeed in a precarious situation that requires assistance from all well-meaning Nigerians.
“I call on you all to see this assignment as an opportunity for national sacrifice. It will demand from you sacrifice, commitment and above all, a high sense of integrity.”
Despite the havoc wrecked by the insurgents however, Ali said all Nigerians must acknowledge and appreciate the giant strides already made by the military in routing the insurgents and ensuring Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
Members of the committee are drawn from the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Police, Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Union of Journalists, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the Red Cross.
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