Mr Muhammad Sani-Sidi, Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), says the Federal Government is putting in place programmes and policies to ensure the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Sani-Sidi said this on Wednesday in Abuja at while fielding questions the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum.

According to him, resettlements plans and policies are under-way following the success of security agencies in combating the insurgency and reclaiming captured communities.

“There are a lot of programmes and policies that have been put in place to address the problem of infrastructural damage in the North-East.

“The Victim Support Fund was set up to raise funds to cater for the IDPs; a presidential committee for reconstruction and rehabilitation was also set up.

The Safe School Initiative was put in place to allow IDPs children to continue their education in camps.

The committees were also set up to come up with some quick ways on how to address these challenges and how to assist them to go back to the liberated communities and continue with their lives.’’

According to the director-general, many camps have been closed down following the voluntary return of IDPs to their communities.

He said that there were 26 IDPs camps in Borno while in Adamawa, the number had reduced from 11 to five camps.

He said that early this year, there was an impact assessment in the insurgency-ravaged states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, to evaluate the level of damage and the infrastructure to be rebuilt.

Sani-Sidi said that although terrorism was entirely a new thing to Nigeria, it had become a global phenomenon and a global challenge.

He, however, said that it was the responsibility of the government to cater for the needs of its displaced citizens and address their plight.

He said that as at November, the population of IDPs in Nigeria was about 2.1 million.

(NAN)