Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state while presenting his 2017’s N183.84 billion budget to the House of Assembly on Thursday, 23, announced that N13 billion has been earmarked for massive reconstruction and rehabilitation of destroyed towns and villages, including critical infrastructures in liberated communities.
He said the newly formed Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlment (MRRR) has become the focal ministry for the post Boko Haram insurgency reconstruction efforts of his government towards returning the 1.6 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) on or before May 29, 2017.
Shettima said: “We invested huge sums of money towards the completion of all on-going projects and rehabilitation of public structures and in the process provided employment for over 2, 000 youths.
“This was done through extensive collaboration with international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the state.
‘’Government had specifically undertaken the reconstruction of 41 public infrastructures at Dikwa, Mainok and Mainta Kururi, Model Villages.
“We have also provided temporary shelter in collaboration with humanitarian organisations in Bama, Mafa, Damboa, Gwoza and Konduga among others.”
While speaking on the ongoing reconstruction projects, Shettima said: “Reconstruction efforts are on-going in eight council areas of Bama, Gwoza, Askira Uba, Chibok, Mafa, Damboa, Hawul.”
He said commercial activities have begun to pick-up even in communities previously over-run by the insurgents. To overcome the challenges of feeding returnee IDPs, government will distribute rice and other food items in 27 council areas of the state by January 2017.
The food distribution programme tagged: “IDPs Stomach Infrastructure” was in addition to the N5.4 billion allocated for ‘emergency socioeconomic activities’ towards empowering IDPs.
Governor Shetimma explained that even without the Boko Haram crises, majority of the citizens find it difficult to meet basic needs of life. He added that the government had simultaneously revamped the local economies of the affected liberated communities.
He also announced that government will establish 10 cottage industries, and invest more in the agriculture, education and social sectors of the economy.
Millions of people have been displaced from their homes in north-east Nigeria since the insurgency began in 2009. Over 20,000 people have also been killed and the UN in a report released barely three weeks ago, warned that millions of people from the distressed north eastern states may die of starvation in 2017.
