The Yobe State Government, through the State Emergency Management Agency is partnering with about nine humanitarian actors in different sectors to provide support for people returning to their communities after fleeing their towns as a result of the insurgency.
Gujba and Gulani are among the areas worst hit by the insurgency and recorded major damage to and destruction of public infrastructure and private property including homes, shops, farms and vehicles belonging to residents. This influx of returnees throws up a new set of challenges including shelter, food, health, water, sanitation etc.
On Monday, the Yobe State Coordination Office of the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative (PCNI) held a parley with members of the Yobe State House of Assembly and the Chairmen of the Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas.
The forum was convened to enlighten participants on PCNI’s activities in the state. They also recorded massive displacement of persons. Recently, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) indicated that civilians are now returning to these areas in the wake of the military’s successes.
The PCNI state office is currently assessing and analyzing gaps in these efforts. The interactive engagement was organized by a civil society organization (Voice and Accountability) with the support of PERL’s Engage Citizens Pillar (ECP), to bring stakeholders together with a view to discussing some of the emerging issues from these returning communities.
In attendance were the chairmen of the two LGAs (Gulani, Gujba) and members representing these areas in the State House of Assembly, as well as members of the civil society and the media.
The PCNI state office made a presentation on its activities in the state across all sectors. Specifically included in the presentation, was PCNI’s intervention in the health sector where it donated medical supplies, equipment and ambulances to the Yobe State Ministry of Health. Mention was also made of PCNI’s involvement in the fight against Viral Hepatitis, where it co-sponsored screening and vaccination and recently secured the procurement of a viral load machine-the first of its kind in the entire northeast.
The gathering was also informed of PCNI’s efforts to attract the assistance of the private sector to recovery efforts in the North-East. As part of these efforts, PENCOM recently toured two communities in the state where it intends to build ten classrooms as part of its corporate social responsibility program.
The representatives from Gujba and Gulani urged PCNI to expedite completion of ongoing projects in their locales and thereby hasten the resettlement of returnees. The PCNI team fielded questions regarding areas of intervention and avenues of partnership. The PCNI State Programme Manager highlighted the good working relationship between the state office and the Yobe state government.
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