Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, on Friday, launched the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge in two unofficial camps in Maiduguri.

In a speech at the event held at Muna Camp, Mr Zulum said the exercise was coming three years after IDPs in official camps were resettled back to their homes.

He said the ones in the unofficial camps of Muna and El-Badawi indicated interest in returning to their ancestral homes in Jere, Bama, Ngala, Konduga, Mafa, Gwoza, Marte, and Dikwa.

Mr Zulum further said a resettlement package had been provided for the households that indicated interest in returning home or to safer locations in a dignified way in line with the Kampala Declaration.

The governor said all the male and female heads of households would receive N100,000 each with food and non-food items, while married women would get N50,000 each.

He affirmed the commitment of his administration to gradually close all the camps.

Mr Zulum, however, raised concern over the growing cases of prostitution and criminal activities in some of the camps, which, he said, must be discouraged.

He lauded the federal government for its sustained support to Borno through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), describing it as a reliable partner.

“The food items we are giving those IDPs today are from NEMA,” Mr Zulum said.

In a remark, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement, Ali Goni, said the IDPs comprised at least 11,000 households.

Also, the NEMA director, Relief and Resettlement, Abdullahi Adamu, lauded the Borno government for its commitment to the welfare of IDPs and assured Borno of the agency’s support.

(NAN)