The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday said the Senate is prepared to partner with the United Nations Development Programme in tackling the current humanitarian crisis in the North East.
Saraki gave the assurance when the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme to Nigeria, Edward Kallon, visited him in Abuja.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, he expressed gratitude for the efforts of the UNDP at ameliorating the suffering of the Internally Displaced Persons in terms of healthcare, education and feeding programmes.
While noting that the North-east Humanitarian crisis presented a great challenge to the present administration, he said it could only be remedied if all hands were on deck to tackle it.
He also urged the UNDP boss to draw the attention of the world body to the dire situation in the country and ensure that Nigeria was given the same measure of response accorded other crisis zones in other countries.
The president of the senate stressed the need for all humanitarian efforts to be properly coordinated to prevent undue duplication of efforts.
Saraki said: “We passed the North East Development Commission Bill to create a platform for the effective and efficient coordination of all efforts aimed at the North-East Humanitarian crisis and to bring about transparency and accountability in the allocation of resources.
“We want you to work with us in the area of inclusive growth, review of economic recovery plans, electoral reforms and the transition of the Sustainable Development Goals by developing a framework for implementation both at the legislature and executive levels.”
Earlier, leader of the UNDP delegation, Kallon, noted that the IDPs needed the urgent support to voluntarily return home and start rebuilding their lives.
He said the UN was committed to providing support aimed at tackling the challenge of malnutrition, lack of educational facilities, power and healthcare for the IDPs.
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