Zulum leads FG delegation to repatriate 7,790 refugees from Chad
By Tada Juthan, Maiduguri
Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has led a high-powered federal government delegation to Chad to repatriate 7,790 refugees.
According to him, the refugees are indigenes of the state, displaced by the 15-year Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin communities.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dauda Iliya, stated on Thursday, in Maiduguri that the delegation to Chad, include the State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, and the Federal Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).
Iliya added that members of the federal government delegation were received on Wednesday in Baga Sola by the governor of Lac province, Saleh Hagger Tidjani.
Prior to the launching of the first batch of repatriating the refugees, Zulum attended the signing of a tripartite agreement between the governments of Nigeria, Chad, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) at Baga Solar.
Dr. Sununu also signed on behalf of Nigeria, while the governor of Lac province of Chad, Jerome Merlin, and the second representative of UNHCR in Baga Sola signed on behalf of Chad and UN refugee agency.
Addressing federal and Borno state government delegations, Zulum emphasised that only those who have voluntarily indicated interest in returning are to be repatriated to Nigeria, Borno state.
He, therefore, expressed gratitude to the Chadian government for hosting about 7,800 refugees, comparing 1,768 families. In his remarks, Dr. Sununu commended Zulum for the leadership he has been providing to deliver services in the various sectors of the economy.
He continued, “I want to thank the Executive Governor of Borno State for his leadership during natural and man-made crises.”You’re a role model in terms of an integrated, complete collaboration with the federal government in providing support to meet the basic needs of the vulnerable populations in the state.”
The Head of Chancery of the Nigerian Embassy in N’Djamena, Abdulkadir Ibrahim Ghani, Borno State House of Assembly member, representing Kukawa, Karta Maina Ma’aji, Commissioners of Local Government Affairs, and Information and Internal Security, Sugum Mai Mele and Prof. Usman Tar and the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Mustapha Ali Busuguma, also accompanied the governor to repatriate the refugees from Chad.
