Dr. Samuel Ortom of Benue State, North Central Nigeria has flagged-off the Benue State 2022 Emergency Support Program Tuesday April,26 at Ortese IDP camp in Guma LGA.
With over 1.5 million IDPs needing constant care and attention, he added that his government was completely overwhelmed by the ever increasing number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
Speaking at the function, he said: “People are living in deplorable conditions in IDP camps. They have found themselves here due to the constant attacks on them…Why is the government silent about it? When I mention the number of IDPs, they tell me I am lying, but they should come and see for themselves. They shouldn’t sit in Abuja and talk. Let them come and experience the pain and trauma of my people who are being stripped of their homes and means of livelihood.”
Ortom decried how, the once peaceful state was gradually becoming a place packed with destitute without official camps to live in, adding that some government primary schools had been converted to makeshift IDP camps to accommodate more displaced persons.
He lashed out on the Federal Government, accusing the president of turning a blind eye to the plights of the Benue people.
The Governor said that despite efforts being made by armed groups and assailants to take over Benue state, the people will never surrender, adding that if such violence didn’t stop due to the Federal Government’s negligence, then the Benue people will take up arms and fight back.
“The youth should get ready to defend their land if this issues are not addresses. We cannot continue like this. Most of our homes are now occupied by animals as people have fled into IDP camps. We cannot continue to keep silent. We will do this our own way if the government fails to take action. I will not stop talking until the president listens to me and rises to the challenge,” he said.
He further urged all leaders who took the oath of office to keep to their promises, adding that one of the most important attributes of a leader is to ensure safety of the people being led.
Governor Ortom appreciated the Victims Support Fund (VSF) for massive humanitarian aid brought to Benue IDPs. He appreciated the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Victims Support Fund (PCVSF), General T. Y. Danjuma (rtd) GCON for his passion for humanity.
In his final notes, the Governor called on other well-spirited individuals to also support the cause by intervening for the IDPs who have been subjected to traumatic living through no fault of theirs, as the government was totally overwhelmed.
The Victim Support Fund Benue State Emergency Support Program will run for 6 months in 6 different local governments in Benue state.
VSF intervened with three ambulances, food items, relief materials, school bags, sanitary pads, laundry items and a host of other items were donated to the IDPS. An IDP volunteer teacher, Gabriel, was given a scholarship. The PCVSF was set up in July 2014 at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency as a non-military response to the terror attacks.
This the second intervention from the VSF. In 2020 during the Covid-19, they rendered humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities in Benue State who were starving due to the lockdown.