The Borno State Government and the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) have collaborated with the United Nations Refugee Council for the resettlement of 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons in the state.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum made this known on Thursday while commissioning the NALDA Rural Housing Scheme, Farm Training, and Empowerment Centre at Dusman in Maiduguri.
Zulum noted that the Boko Haram insurgency has displaced 3.5 million people in the state, but the government had so far resettled two million displaced persons.
According to him, the Borno State Government will continue to partner with the Federal Government, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Refuge Commission, as well as the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to resettle the remaining 1.5 million displaced persons.
“The improved peace in the state has mandated the closure of many camps and the return of two million displaced persons back to their ancestral communities.
“Yesterday, the Borno State Government inaugurated a committee to investigate the causes of conflict between herders and farmers to propose solutions to the Borno State Government.
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Speaking, the Borno State Commissioner for Agriculture and Mineral Resources, Engr. Bawu Musami said, “Zulum has created an enabling environment for returning the IDPs to boost agriculture activities in the state.
“Governor Babagana Zulum is doing well in reviving the agricultural activities in the state.”
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, said that NALDA would continue to partner with the Borno State Government for the resettlement of displaced persons in order to enable them to have access to their farmlands.
He advised other state governors to key into agricultural activities to create employment for teeming youths and to have enough food supply in the country as directed by President Bola Tinubu.”