The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Friday called for calm as the United Nations threatened to suspend its aid deliveries in Nigeria after a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) humanitarian convoy was attacked in Borno State.
Saraki, in a statement by his Media Office, condemned the attack and described it as unacceptable.
He urged an immediate review of the security situation in the North-East by the relevant authorities, stating that it was necessary to alleviate the concerns of international partners who were set to help rebuild the crisis-torn region.
The senate president said, “This unfortunate situation has led to the United Nation’s temporarily suspending its rehabilitation-related aid deliveries to parts of the North-East. This is a major cause for concern as overtime, the military has recorded significant successes in routing the insurgency and many foreign donor agencies have expressed their preparedness to join in the restoration efforts.”
Saraki, however, urged the military, the Department of State Security and the police to allay the fears of the donor partners.
“The activities of the partners are important to Nigeria’s efforts to rebuild the North-East after months of the region’s decimation by the Boko Haram sect,” he said.
The senate president also called on the Presidential Initiative for the North-East, National Emergency Management Agency and other relevant agencies to immediately address the shortfall that might arise from the suspension of donations of food and medicines to the troubled people of the North-East by the UN.
He said, “Effective action must be taken in the interim. We need to make sure that no lives are lost due to the temporary suspension of UN’s aid.”
PUNCH.
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