FCT Minister Seeks Partnership With Humanitarian Affairs Ministry To Empower IDPs
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello, has sought partnership with his humanitarian affairs counterpart, Sadiya Umar Farouq, on empowerment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the FCT.
Bello had received Farouq and members of her team at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development at his office on Wednesday in Abuja.
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The FCT minister urged the humanitarian ministry to take advantage of facilities owned by the FCTA to empower IDPs with skills acquisition.
Bello urged the humanitarian ministry to assist orphans in IDPs camps to access FCT owned orphanages.
“For instance, we have schools that carter for children with special needs. We also have a training centre in Nyanya that will be able to train many of the IDPs in meaningful skills that will help them have a meaningful life wherever they are settled. We also have the Bwari centre where people that are picked from the streets, particularly orphans and those who have no means of livelihood are trained,” said the FCT minister.
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“These centres have been there for quite sometime and are functional. We also have orphanages. All are being handled by our Social Development Secretariat. And I noticed that they all fall under the purview of what your Ministry handles…you may not need to invest in new institutions and facilities. All you need is just to use what is already here in the FCT. Its just a matter of having a partnership where we jointly develop these institutions, upgrade them so that they can be up to the standard that you can use as models and encourage other states across the country to replicate.
The minister further directed the setting up of a joint committee comprising members from both ministries and to be supervised by the FCT Minister of state, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, to work out modalities for the partnership.
Farouq had earlier sought partnership with the FCTA on improving the welfare of IDPs in terms In terms of portable water, health and education.
She said her Ministry has a record of over 26, 726 IDPs spread across camps in the FCT, explaining that although some of them have skills, they still needed to be encouraged to improve themselves as well as contribute to the economy of the Territory.
