By Aliyu DANALDI
Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno South), says he is worried about how Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) manage humanitarian response funds meant for victims of insurgency in the North-East.
Ndume, who made the remark at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja, said large chunks of the funds were going into overhead and personnel costs of the NGOs, leaving less for their primary targets.
He called on the Federal Government to speed up the establishment of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) to address the situation.
“I am worried about the management of the humanitarian response funds by the NGOs whereby they spend most of the monies on overhead and personnel than directing the funds to the victims.
“I have been tracking the amount of money donated by international development partners.
“It is a huge amount, but you find out that they will buy armoured jeep for N50 million to deliver N10 million rice to people in the village, it does not make sense.
“And then they hire a house and put all sorts of security gadgets costing millions of naira that can change the lives of people.
“If we had the commission, it would have been monitoring or having a synergy with the NGOs that are scattered all over Maiduguri, operating left right and centre without a coordinating centre.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had assented to the North-East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, co-sponsored by Ndume, in October 2017.
When established, the commission will be responsible for receiving and managing all development funds meant for the North-East, among other things.
The zone, comprising Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states, has suffered years of devastating Boko Haram insurgency, with Borno, Adamawa and Yobe worst hit.
According to the Special Assistant to the president on National Assembly Matters, Mr Ita Enang, the NEDC will also coordinate projects and programmes for the rehabilitation, resettlement, reconciliation, reconstruction and sustainable development of the zone.
Ndume said the last time he checked at the presidency, he was told preparations were being made for the commission to take off.
He therefore called on the government to expedite action on the NEDC because it would provide the institutional framework to easily track the figures and streamline the activities of the institutions.’’
