No plan to transfer northern IDPs to South East – FG

The federal government has said it is not planning to transfer Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the northern part of the country to the South East as being speculated.

Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), disclosed this in a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

There has been tension in Imo State following the visit of the NCFRMI team to the premises of the National Open University Centre in Nsu Ehime Mbano Local Government Area, for the establishment of a skills acquisition centre aimed at training persons of concern and youth from the five southeastern states.

This culminated in the burning of several homes, including that of Senator Frank Ibezim, who facilitated the visit and accompanied the team.

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Speaking about the situation, Ahmed said: “We want to categorically state that the NCFRMI’s intervention in Imo State and the entire southeast has no political motives and it does not in any way intend to bring IDPs from the northern part of Nigeria to reside in the South East.

“The commission equally wants to state that no money was given to any person or persons for the purpose of utilising the facility as it belongs to the government.

“The proposed establishment of the skills acquisition centre is purely a humanitarian initiative designed to serve as a critical resource and provide training in areas such as vocational skills, entrepreneurship, and capacity building.

“These programmes will benefit displaced persons, returnee migrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups, irrespective of their political affiliation, ethnicity, or religious inclination within the southeast region.

“We deeply regret the misrepresentation of information by the media that led to the unwarranted unrest and the destruction of properties by some unscrupulous elements.”

He noted that out of the over six million people facing displacement in Nigeria, a significant number reside in the South East, where entire communities have been displaced due to ecological challenges such as erosion, landslides, and other forms of environmental degradation.

The federal commissioner said in 2024 alone, the commission facilitated the return of 4,550 stranded migrants, with no fewer than 30 per cent of them originating from the South East.

“Additionally, the region hosts approximately 500 non-Nigerian nationals currently seeking asylum as refugees in Nigeria. This group belongs to the subset of the population referred to as persons of concern to the commission,” he said.