Yobe govt. spends N60.8m on disaster victims, vulnerable people

Yobe Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management on Friday said it spent over N60.8 million supporting victims of rainstorm and vulnerable people from 2020 to 2021.

The Commissioner, Dr Abubakar Iliya, said this during a ministerial briefing marking Gov. Mai Mala-Buni’s two years in office in Damaturu.

He said N30 million was spent on procurement and distribution of building materials to support 530 persons whose houses were destroyed by rainstorm in Damaturu, Fune, Gujiba, Gulani and Tarmuwa towns.

Iliya added that each of the affected persons also received N5,000 to cushion the effect of the hardship on them.

The commissioner said N23 million was spent on the purchase of food items distributed to vulnerable persons through registered civil society organisations.

He said the ministry also spent N7.8 million to train internally displaced persons in goat rearing, poultry and tailoring in Damaturu, Gujiba and Gulani.

Iliya said the state in collaboration with the Federal Government paid N20,000 cash grant to 3,400 rural women.

The commissioner said the state, in collaboration with UNDP, also supported another set of 1,500 women with N50,00 each in Gujiba and Buni-Yadi as start up grant, adding that the beneficiaries were displaced by insurgency.

He said the state, also collaborating with the North East Development Commission, supported victims of recent terrorists attack in Geidam with 7,000 bags of rice, 1,500 sleeping mats, 1,000 gallons of vegetable oil, among others.

Iliya also said the ministry constructed and rehabilitated 600 units of market stalls in Buniyadi and Gujiba.