Assistant Controller General of Customs, Azarema Abdulkadiri, disclosed this when he led members of the committee on a courtesy visit to Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki at Government House, Benin City.
Noting that the donation marks the fifth round of distribution of relief materials to the IDPs in the state, he said the relief materials include; “10,653 bags of 50kg of rice; 33 cartoons of 400mg tin of tomato paste; 1,232 cartoons of 70mg of tomato paste; 210 pieces of five litre galloons of vegetable oil and 40 pieces of two litre bottles of vegetable oil.”
Other items are: “5,822 small cartoons of Lucozade boost drinks; 993 cartoons of Eva soap; 4 cartoons of liquid soap; 11 cartoons of tablet soap; 329 bales of second hand clothes and 2,159 pieces of shoes.”
Abdulkadiri expressed appreciation to state government and people for accommodating persons displaced by the ongoing insurgency in the North East, as the Federal Government continues to make efforts to restore peace in the region.
“The judicious distribution of the materials by officials in the camp would have tremendous impact on the lives of the IDPs,” he added.
Governor Godwin Obaseki, who lauded efforts of the President Mohammed Buhari-led Fedral Government in providing succour to the IDPs, urged the committee to include returnees who are victims of human trafficking in their programme of distribution.
He said, “One of the challenges the state government is dealing with is the resettling and reintegration programme for 3,000 returnees who are victims of human trafficking. We are expecting about 6,000 others.”
Obaseki assured the committee that the state government will ensure equitable distribution of the relief materials to the IDPs.
He urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) to also ensure that materials donated are properly stored to prevent damage.
