The Federal Government has inaugurated a new resettlement city for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in the Yar-Kande community of Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Inaugurating the project, the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu said the event represented the progress in the national efforts to restore hope, dignity, safety and patriotism to concerned Nigerians who were displaced from their homes.
She expressed happiness with the initiative, which she said provides resettlement of 40 households, comprising 239 individuals, into a safe and dignified environment.
The First Lady reaffirms the commitment of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which aims to enhance social welfare programmes for all Nigerians.
Mrs Tinubu also praised the Federal Commissioner NCFRMI, Tijjani Ahmed, for including empowerment and skill acquisition as part of the project.
She explained that the project, constructed by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, is a city equipped with greenhouses, vocational training centres, a police station, a church and a mosque, and would help the families to settle down and be independent,” she said.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, while promising to replicate the initiative across the country, said that the gesture is a renewed hope for the displaced persons.
Speaking at the event, NCFRMI’s federal commissioner, Tijani Ahmed, said that an estimated 6.1 million individuals remain displaced across Nigeria, underscoring the urgent need to expand their interventions.
He said disturbing reports continue to emerge of women and children taking refuge in unsafe places, such as market stalls, abandoned buildings, and infamous settlements.
Tijani Ahmed called for support to replicate and scale the resettlement model nationwide in order to ensure that no one is left behind.