Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called for urgent government action to improve the living conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sokoto State after visiting a camp housing more than 1,000 displaced Nigerians.
Obi made the call on Wednesday while concluding his two-day visit to Sokoto State, where he met with different groups to discuss insecurity, poverty, youth unemployment, out-of-school children, drug abuse and other challenges facing the state.
His last engagement was a visit to the Ramin Kura IDP Camp in Sokoto North Local Government Area.
The former Anambra State governor said he was saddened by the condition of the camp, where many families live in makeshift shelters and overcrowded rooms.
According to him, some rooms accommodate as many as 10 people, while the camp also lacks enough toilets, a primary healthcare centre and a basic school for children.
“I have always insisted that as long as even one Nigerian lives in an IDP camp, we are all internally displaced,” Obi said.
He added, “Therefore, the government of today must work assiduously to make the temporary accommodation for our dear citizens living in these camps comfortable, while ensuring that all the underlying security issues that created these conditions in the first place are resolved, to enable them to return to their ancestral homes.”
Obi said the Sokoto camp was the 12th IDP camp he had visited across Nigeria, adding that he would continue to support displaced persons.
He said, “This is why I continue to say that the President’s and political office holders’ holidays must be within Nigeria, so that they can see first-hand the difficulties faced by these fellow Nigerians, whose vulnerability has been worsened by the failure of government to prioritise critical areas of development.”
The former presidential candidate also appealed to the Federal Government and relevant agencies to urgently address the needs of displaced persons and improve their welfare.
Internal displacement remains one of Nigeria’s major humanitarian challenges, with thousands of families forced to flee their homes because of insecurity and armed attacks in different parts of the country. Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly called for better shelter, healthcare, education and security for people living in IDP camps across the country.
