See pictures of beneficiaries of the "Ortom For You" wheelbarrows and items donated to Benue state by FG.

When these pictures went viral 2 months ago,the Governor said he never gave approval for SEMA chairman to write his name on equipments that were donated to victims of herdsmen invasion in Benue state by The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.

On the 24 Dec 2016 it was reported in DailyTrust that......

The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMI) flagged off the distribution of relief items to ameliorate their sufferings. 

The NCRMI Federal Commissioner, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said at the occasion which held in Makurdi that her intervention visit to the state was meant to ameliorate the sufferings of some persons of concern to the commission. 

“This mission is aimed at flagging off symbolic distribution of relief materials (food and non-food items) to the IDPs and also to have firsthand assessment of the IDPs situation in Benue State,” she said. 

Farouq also said the idea was to drive the process of ensuring the return and reintegration of the IDPs in order to restore dignity to the affected communities of Agatu, Guma and Logo local government areas where most of the internal civil strives and communal clashes occurred between farmers and herdsmen. 

She added that the commission would continue to partner with the state government for the wellbeing of the victims of forced displacement by making available care and maintenance as well as rehabilitation of lives and livelihood where displacement ceased to exist. 

To achieve this, the federal commissioner intimated that there were plans underway to design a practical durable solution strategy with a lifespan of three years to provide various durable solution options for the IDPs. 

The idea would include providing adequate housing, skill acquisitions and necessary amenities for the victims to start life all over, adding that President Muhammed Buhari was committed to ensuring normalcy returned to all troubled places in the country and that Benue is no exception. 

Speaking on behalf of the IDPs from affected local government areas in the state, Elder Paul Utaan appreciated the commission’s gesture as he noted that the relief items would go a long way to cushion the effect of hardship they were undergoing.

Utaan regretted that the crisis between herdsmen and farmers had left them totally ruined with no source of livelihood and no home to return to while their children had dropped out of school. 

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Boniface  Ortese, solicited the assistance of the commission in training IDPs for the judicious use of some of the equipments donated to them such as the wielding machines and hair clippers so as to disabuse their minds from selling the items.

According to Ortese, the effort of the commission in the past towards providing relief materials to Benue IDPs was worth commending as well as its latest plan to empower the victims so they could be reintegrated back to the society. 

Also speaking, Acting Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Bem Melladu, thanked the federal government through the commission for the gesture as he explained that the Governor Samuel Ortom’s administration had put in place a committee working round the clock to ensure that there would be no reoccurrence of clashes between farmers and herdsmen especially as the dry season approaches. 

The SSG received the items such as; bags of assorted grains, cooking utensils, toiletries, educational materials, wielding and building equipments, hair clippers, beddings and foot wears among others.

Photo credit Anonymous