The Government of Indonesia has offered to assist the Nigerian Government to the tune of one million dollars to rebuild the North-East region affected by insurgency.
The Ambassador of Indonesia to Nigeria, Mr Harry Purwanto made this known when he visited the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI), on Friday in Abuja.
Purwanto said the visit to the Committee was for the Indonesia government to know the actual situation on ground in the North-East and the areas in utmost need for intervention.
He said that after listening to the presentation from the PCNI, the Indonesian government would offer an assistance of one million dollars in kind to the committee, specifically for humanitarian assistance.
“We really see that there is a huge challenges faced by Nigerians with the crisis in the North-East.
“For now, the Indonesian government wants to focus on one thing, and that is, what would really save lives.
“We would focus on the humanitarian assistance, which is why we have come to this office to have a clear picture and update on the situation.
“Our humanitarian assistance is not huge, it is very modest and we hope it helps a lot.
“We pledge about 1 million dollars in kind and we would buy all we need from the local market to also help boost the Nigerian economy’’, Purwanto said.
Purwanto said he would relay the outcome of the meeting to the Government of Indonesia for quick response.
Earlier, Mr Tijjani Tumsah, Vice Chairman of PCNI expressed his appreciation to the Indonesian government for its interest to support the Nigerian Government in addressing the plights of the victims of insurgency.
He said the committee has been engaging in a lot of humanitarian intervention in the North-East but the humanitarian challenge is huge and so, any form of assistance is welcomed.
Tumsah said they have come to the right place as PCNI is the apex governing body for coordination of all interventions ranging from humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, resettlement, and everything going on in the North-East.
“ The Ambassador of Indonesia has come to the PCNI to see how his country can help in the humanitarian crises going on right now in the North-East.
`We are waiting for them to redeem that pledge because they are areas that we are in dire need of urgent intervention.
“ When he said in kind, they will determine in what areas to help us because we have given them the picture of what is required and what is on ground.
“We are already on ground and are ready to work with their assistance when they are ready as we have been doing a lot of intervention in the North East ,’’ Tumsah said.
Tumsah explained that the PCNI has adopted a five-year action plan for the reconstruction of the North-East but has picked out five priority areas for immediate response.
The PCNI Vice Chairman said the priority areas for immediate intervention are humanitarian assistance, education, health, security and revamping the agriculture sector.
Tumsah said the committee has also designed an assistance plan to over fifteen children who have been orphaned by the insurgency, training of widows and empowering them to start a trade.
Source – Reuters
