BY Oluseyi Awojulugbe
Laolu Akande, spokesperson of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, says that the new distribution method will curb diversion of relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The aide said that the acting president launched a programme on June 8 to distribute grains to 1.8 million people still displaced by the insurgency, many of whom reside in internally displaced persons camp.
According to Reuters, at least half of relief materials sent to the northeast for IDPs have been diverted.
“Over 1,000 trucks of assorted grains are now on course, delivering the grains intact to beneficiaries since the commencement of the present programme as against the reported diversion of over 50 trucks in every 100 trucks sent to the northeast.
“The issue of diversion of relief materials, including food and related matters, which has dogged food delivery to the IDPs [internally displaced people] would be significantly curbed under the new distribution matrix.”
Akande said 1,376 military personnel and 656 armed police would guard the food as it was moved from warehouses and distributed to displaced people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe – the three states worst hit by the insurgency.
Although the army has recorded success against the insurgents, there have been attacks in some parts of the northeast.
Earlier in June, a UN official said the World Food Programme had scaled back its emergency plans in the northeast because of lack of funds, now aiming to supply food to 1.4 million people instead of the 1.8 million previously intended.
The UN says it needs $1.05 billion this year to deal with the crisis in northeast Nigeria, which is one of three humanitarian emergencies in Africa, but has only received about a quarter of that sum.
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