PRESIDENTIAL Committee on North-East Initiative PCNI and Victims Support Fund VSF has donated building materials worth millions of Naira to Borno state government to support the reconstruction of communities destroyed by insurgents.
Making the presentation to Governor Kashim Shettima, last weekend Vice Chairman of the PCNI. Tijjani Tumsah said a total of 298,000 pieces of timber, 59,710 ceiling boards and 20,865 bags of assorted nails were handed over to the government for use.
He said that the state was further assisted with 4,100 bundles of zinc and 2,400 bags of cement also as part of the PCNI’s intervention to the state to prepare homes for the internally displaced people IDP’S to return.
The distribution of the building materials was made particularly to nine local governments of the state where reconstruction works are ongoing to ensure that the people return as soon as it is safe.
According to Tumsah, ‘the distribution was based on populations of the local governments and damage assessment’ in council areas like Gwoza and Monguno which got 50,000 pieces of timber, 2,275 bundles of zinc, 2,650 ceiling boards and 350 bags of cement each.
Also, 48,000 pieces of timber, 2,275 bundles of zinc, 2,650 ceiling boards and 350 bags of cement were donated to Damboa local government because of the enormous damages were done to their residences.
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Five local governments, Guzamala, Kala-Balge, Kukawa, Mafa and Ngala received 20,000 pieces of timber, 1,000 bundles of zinc, 2,053 bags of assorted nails, 5,670 pieces of ceiling boards and 200 bags of cement each.
Similarly, PCNI handed over health care facilities meant to furnish a hospital in Bama local government to the governor. Alh. Tumsah noted that the facilities, including x-ray machines and a total of 240 adult beds, among other items which will fully furnish the hospital.
Receiving, the items, Gov. Shettima thanked the presidential committee for the intervention, noting that it will help fast-track the ongoing reconstruction works and subsequent resettlement of internally displaced persons.
He further explained that his government is determined to resettle all displaced persons by May 29, 2018, having failed to do that last year.
‘Our government is determined to see that by May 29, we have resettled all displaced persons to their communities’, the governor said.
He called on the committee to extend similar interventions in its next tranche to other local governments of the state where reconstruction works are ongoing, including Askira Uba, Chibok, Konduga and Marte, among others.
Since its inauguration in 2016 by the federal government, PCNI has made several interventions across various sectors particularly in areas of reconstruction, education, healthcare and peace-building in the North East region.
Alh. Tumsah had re-echoed recently that 6 billion Naira has been spent in various intervention programs in the six states of the northeast region of Nigeria since the inception of the Theophilus Danjuma led committee.