Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state, has airlifted N65 million for
disbursement to 8,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) households at
border community of Rann with Cameroon.
The border council headquarters, with Cameroon, was severally attacked
by insurgents, including accidental bombing of IDP camp by Nigerian
Air Force (NAF) fighter jet on January 17, 2017.
According to him, the border community, is the remotest council sited
in central part of the state.
While lamenting council’s remoteness, he said: “There is no banking
services in Kala-Balge while it is impossible for humanitarian
agencies to transport food and nonfood items to trapped IDPs in
camps.”
He said that this is his fifth humanitarian trips to Kala-Balge since
he assumed office in May 2019.
He said the border council area, could only be accessed by road
through Cameroon; due to flooded roads.
“The discharged water from a dam in Central Africa has also trapped
the IDPs in Rann,” he said, noting that it denies many people from
traveling to others parts of Borno.
He added the extreme remoteness of Kala/Balge from the state, has
denied the IDPs access to their farms because of perennial flooding.
According to him, villagers buy their food supplies from border
communities of Cameroon for livelihood sustenance.
While supervising the disbursement of N65 million at the weekend, he
said: “Each of the 5,000 IDP male households, is to receive N10, 000,
while 3,000 female households, are each to receive N5, 000 and
10-kilogram bag of rice.”
He said the disbursement, are to enable widows and other vulnerable
buy food and other basic needs from Cameroonian border villages.
