Osinbajo stresses urgency of Returning Displaced Nigerians In North-East

08 Mar Osinbajo stresses urgency of Returning Displaced Nigerians In North-East

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the safe return of Nigerians displaced by the insurgency in the North-East from Cameroon, Niger and Chad will be treated as an emergency assignment.

He spoke on Monday, at the first meeting of the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Returns and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the North-East.

President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Committee on February 2, 2022, with the Vice President as Chairman and Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State as Vice Chairman.

The meeting presided over by the Vice President, had in attendance, Prof. Babagana Zulum; his counterpart from Gombe State, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya; the Deputy Governor of Yobe State, Idi Gubana, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and members of the Federal Executive Council, among others.

On the task ahead of the Committee, the Vice President urged members to carry out the assignment with every sense of urgency, noting that President Buhari wanted a committee with wide representation in order to be inclusive, and to be able to deliver, taking to account all the issues.

He, however, urged the committee to deal “With this task as an emergency. We simply don’t have the time to get into too much bureaucracy, so that we are able to deliver on all of the issues.”

Prof. Osinbajo noted that while the committee will work with existing frameworks in the management of the issues, ongoing efforts to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their communities must continue unhindered.

“We should immediately do whatever it takes to commence the process of repatriating our people back home. Already there are several initiatives.