5000 IDPs to benefit from Word Bank grant in Bauchi
Not less than N200,000.00 each has been earmarked to be disbursed to the first batch of 5,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge in Bauchi state that are willing to go back to their respective communities.
A grant from the Targeted Grant Transfer (TGT) under the Youth Employment and Social Support Operations (YESSO), a World Bank assisted intervention is responsible for that.
This was disclosed by the head of TGT component in Bauchi state, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf Kobi at the flag off ceremony of the TGT held at the banquet hall of government house Bauchi.
Yusuf said the primary objective of TGT programme is to encourage the 13,836 IDPs enumerated to go back to their respective communities or any other safe and secured location to resettle.
“The N200,000.00 to be disbursed to IDPs that are willing to go back to their indigenous communities will be given in four batches. The first batch of N30,000.00 is the one we are flagging off today and it cut across all enumerated IDPs mined from the state social register.
“Thereafter, those IDPs willing to go back to their communities will be entitle to additional N20,000.00 as relocation allowance, N50,0000.00 resettlement allowance and the final N100,0000.00 as stabilisation allowance, which brings it to the sum total of N200, 000.00 per beneficiary”, Kobi said.
In a remark at the flag off ceremony, the state Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar commended the TGT intervention which he described as timely.
The secretary to the state government, Mohammed Umar Nadada who represented the Governor said, “It is hoped that the beneficiaries will use the grant to improve their economic status in wherever they find their selves”.
He added that, “for those of you who want to go back to your respective communities, I urge you to make good use of what you are getting from the TGT intervention. For those of you that want to remain in Bauchi state, you are welcome and you will be given all the privileges that the indigenous people are enjoying too”.
While commenting during the ceremony, Bauchi state chairman of IDPs Mallam Buba Musa Shehu expressed his gratitude to the World Bank, the Federal and Bauchi state governments for their efforts towards rehabilitated the IDPs in the state.
He also appealed to the beneficiaries of the grant to use it into the purpose for which it was given.
“For us (IDPs), living in Bauchi state, I will say without any fear of contradiction that we are well taken care of. This is not the only intervention that is targeting IDPs in the state.
There is also the Fadama project too and many other donor and local intervention aimed at making our lives better. We thank Bauchi people for their hospitality”, the IDPs chairman said.
At the event, a credit card loaded with the sum of N30,000.00 was presented to some IDPs beneficiaries by the representative of the Governor to symbolise the actuality of the programme.
