The Senate at its plenary session of Thursday, 18 July 2019 has resolved to investigate the state of humanitarian crises in the North East geo-political zone with particular interest in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States following continuous reports of violent clashes, kidnapping and banditry in these States.

Leading the deliberation on the motion titled “The dire state of Humanitarian crises in Nigeria especially Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States”, Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC: Borno) highlighted that the humanitarian crises occurring across the country had resulted to mass displacement of people and noted that over 10 communities across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States had been devastated by the impact of the crisis.

Sen. Ndume also made submissions inferring that over 7.1 million people displaced by the attacks in the North East are in need of food, nutritional support and humanitarian assistance. He however commended the efforts of donor agencies, development partners, and other key stakeholders involved in humanitarian responses in Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to ensure the timely release of funds allocated to the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in the 2019 Appropriation Act for rehabilitation and re-integration purposes.

The Senate further urged the Federal Government to present to the National Assembly a Supplementary Budget that addresses other funding challenges not highlighted in the 2019 Appropriation Act. The President of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan (APC: Yobe) is expected to lead a delegation to visit the affected States in the North East.