Acting President Osinbajo launches New Food Distribution Scheme in Maiduguri

On Thursday the 8^th of June, in Maiduguri, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo unveiled a new and more effective distribution plan for delivering relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East. In a departure from the previous delivery model under which IDPs were made to queue up to receive relief items, the new plan which kicked-off at the Bakassi Camp, will now see camp officials deliver food items to the IDPs at their door-steps in exchange for a pre-issued voucher.

According to the Acting President the plan is part of the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari for addressing the welfare of IDPs in the North East. He also disclosed that the voucher system will impose transparency on the process of distributing relief items, it will also improve the federal government’s data gathering and its national capacity to plan and execute what is intended to be a quarterly exercise.

He also added that the Federal Government would work closely with States to provide other assistance including health services to the IDPs. Professor Osinbajo commended the partnership support from international partners such as the UN, World Food Programme, NEMA, the Military, the Police, other security agencies and State Governments in the region.

Earlier upon arrival in Maiduguri, Osinbajo had inspected the consignment of about 30,000 metric tonnes to be delivered across the region by 1,032 trucks. The distribution is for affected persons in of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe States.
During the visit, the Acting President also inspected some facilities such as the NEMA warehouse, the Bakassi IDP camp office and the premises of School A located within the camp. It is expected that the new delivery model will ensure that relief items properly reach the target beneficiaries of the intervention.