Buhari’s five-year North East recovery plan targets 14m victims of insurgency — Official

Nearly 14 million people affected by insurgency are to benefit from President Muhammadu Buhari’s five-year recovery plan for states in the North East zone of the country.

John Mamza, the National Programme Coordinator, Rural Water and Sanitation Services, made this known during a one-day rural water supply overview programme in Yola, Adamawa State on Tuesday.

Mamza explained that the Federal Government through the African Development Bank in 2018 secured a flexible loan of $179.42 million for North East Emergency Transition, Recovery and Peace building.

He said the project was under the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme funded by AfDB and implemented by the five North Eastern states of Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Borno and Bauchi.

Mamza said: “This Programme is part of ongoing Federal Government efforts toward North-East States Emergency Transition, Recovery and Peace building, elaborated by the five-year programmatic ‘Buhari Plan’ of 2016.

“The programme is multi-sectoral, cutting across Education, Health, Labour, Women Affairs and Water Resources, with the rural water supply project taking up the largest share.

“Also, the Programme is designed to help address the needs of an estimated 14 million affected people, including more than 2.3 million Internally Displaced Persons, of whom nearly 80 per cent are women, children and youths and with special attention to rural households in Local Government Areas affected by the insurgency.”

Mamza pointed out that the Programme had three components that are service delivery, economic recovery and Institutional Strengthening and Project Management.

According to the coordinator, the programme was officially launched by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja in 2018 with the goals of poverty reduction and vulnerability in Nigeria.