By Andrew Oota
The Senate ,barring any last minute changes will take a decision on the plight of the people of Gwer-West ,Makurdi and Guma local Governments with the view to resettle there people currently wallowing in different Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to their ancestral homes following a prepared motion by the chairman Senate committee on Rules and Business , Senator Titus Zam when Senate reconvenes.
Gwer-West , Guma, Makurdi forms part of the Benue North West Senatorial District Senator Zam represents in the National Assembly .
The Benue State Governor, a few days back challenged the lawmaker to address the challenges of the IDP’s in his Senatorial District as well as accused Senator Zam of heating up the Benue polity instead of focusing on working for the overall interest of his people.
He had challenged the senator to present his score card on his first 100 days in office .
The peoples Democratic party in Benue State through it’s State Publicity Secretary ,Bengba Iortyom had equally challenged the Benue state Government to showcase her achievements in it’s first hundred days in office .
The party equally took a swipe on the method of payment of salaries in the ,alleging that it was selective and did not cut across board.
The motion already slatted for discussion on Tuesday before the Senate adjournment was entitled “Urgent Need to Resettle the Displaced people of Gwer-West ,Makurdi and Guma local Governments to their ancestral habitat and to avert imminent humanitarian crisis in Benue State “.
Senator Zam in the prepared motion likely to be taken on the next legislative day prayed the Senate to “direct the chief of defence staff to immediately facilitate and supervise the quick return of all displaced persons to their ancestral homes”.
The motion also seeks that the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster management to provide to provide medical,food and other relief materials to the displaced persons .
Senator Zam is also asking the upper legislative chamber to “direct the federal government to redeem the 10,000.000.000.00 (ten billion Naira)promise made to the people of Benue State to rebuild the destroyed communities and equally provide a sustainable security corridor to all the flash points within the affected communities “.
The federal lawmaker who also served as both local Government chairman and Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Benue State has stated in his prepared motion to be taken on the next legislative sittings that in the past seven years , the people of the three local Governments have lived in deplorable and excruciating conditions in areas such as Naka, Agagbe ,Abenga North bank , Daudu, Umenger, and Gbajimba, because they were sacked by bandits masquerading as herders .
He expressed concerns that the people have since taken refuge in places not worthy of human habitation .
According to him the continued stay in those poor and less than human conditions will potentially cause a huge humanitarian crisis of out brake of diseases that will lead to more lost of lives.
According to his prepared motion, the statistics from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency as at September this year puts the number of people on the IDP camps in the state to an alarming 1,597,000 persons adding that catering for that huge population will overwhelm the financial strength of the state Government,hence the need to return them to their homes and the Federal Government to fulfil it’s promise .
PEOPLES DAILY Newspapers can authoritatively report that there are always protests and demostrations by the IDPs on a regular basis blocking federal highways to register there anger over continued killings and there deplorable conditions .
Some of the IDPs have equally come under attacks by the bandits in some cases especially the IDP camps in Daudu and Gbajimba located on the Makurdi -Lafia-Abuja highway.
As recent as July 14, 2023 PEOPLES DAILY Newspapers can vividly recall with photo and video proofs a huge protest of the IDPs where personnel of the Nigerian Army conveying’ Essential Equipments ‘ was blocked by the protesters for hours causing a gridlock that required the intervention of the traditional institution and deployment of forces from Makurdi .
The deployed forces also pleaded and did not apply force for them to be allowed to move out their essential equipments .
