The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has pledged to support the victims of the recent killings in Plateau state.
Its Director-General, Mustapha Ahmed, said this Wednesday when Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau paid him a visit in Abuja.
Ahmed said that the agency was awaiting a report from the state to ascertain the number of those affected so as to send adequate relief items to them.
He assured that everyone affected would be taken care of.
He added that farmers who lost farm produce and farmlands to the 2022 flood across the country would also get items from the Federal Government to cushion the effects of their loss.
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“The items to be distributed are currently in the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the farmers will get the items once the agency gets presidential directive.
“For the crisis in Plateau, whenever disaster hits, I quickly request for on-the-spot-assessment to get a report and immediately a disaster hits, we respond swiftly.
“We will not turn our backs on the Plateau state or any other state.
“For those displaced, I am waiting for the report, NEMA is there for the distressed, we will definitely reach out, we will make sure everybody is taken care of,” he said.
Earlier, Gov. Mutfwang said the visit was to seek the agency’s support for victims of the recent killings in the state.
The governor, who described the killings in the state as a national disaster, said over 200 lives had been lost due to the unrest in the last three months.
“I know that Plateau state has been in the news of late, we are not happy about it but that is the reality.
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“We have had a lot of incidents of insurgency in the last two to three months that has assumed the dimension of a national disaster.
“Whenever a life is lost, it is a subject of concern but where you have over 200 people who have lost their lives, it requires a new dimension.
“As a result of the insurgency, we have a lot of internally displaced people who are today in IDP camps, we have a lot of unsettled communities.’’
According to the governor, once you have a crisis, the incidence of human suffering increases.
“And once you have human beings suffering from hunger, displacement, every responsible government must do something to address them.
“And there is no other agency that is saddled with the constitutional responsibility as a nation to address those issues other than NEMA,” he said.
On efforts made to ensure those affected return to their homes, Mutfwang said: “I can assure you that the government is doing a lot to address these issues.
“The new GOC 3 Division, who also oversees the Special Task Force of the Army, resumed duty last week Saturday and moved his operational base to Mangu which is a clear departure from the past.’’
The governor added that the task force was dealing with issues of insurgency and stopping the infiltration into Mangu.
According to him, there are also a lot of community relations and dialogue going on among community leaders to forestall future occurrence.
“This is because Plateau is a multi-religious, multicultural, multilingual state and we have to find the right mechanism to be able to live in peace with one another,” he added.
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