NAN-H-93
Funds
By Lizzy Okoji/ Taiye Edeni
Abuja, Feb. 24, 2017 (NAN) Mr Sani Zorro, the Chairman, Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), House of Representatives has called for transparency in handling humanitarian intervention funds from international donours.
Zorro made the call an interview with the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
He said there was need for proper accountability in handling such funds, adding that Nigeria was expecting $1 billion intervention fund to enable it to tackle the North-East humanitarian crisis.
He noted that a Nigerian delegation was currently participating in the Global Donour Conference for Member Countries of the Lake Chad Basin in Oslo, Norway.
Zoro expressed hope that the country would have a fruitful deliberation for expected $1 billion intervention fund to be able scale up the humanitarian assistance in the north-east.
“We do hope that Nigeria will be able to attract such intervention resources, both in cash and kind, because the situation in the North-East is really severe and very dire.
“The Nigerian crisis is well known to the global community and we have had sympathisers, including international non-governmental organisations,( NGOs) that are active in Nigeria.
“We at the National Assembly therefore insist that principles of accountability as well as transparency must be respected at all times.
“Since such funds from foreign countries are not captured in the appropriation act, we, in the exercise of our mandate to oversight the executive arm, are unable to track them properly.
“We will continue to insist that the best practices are applied when it comes to disbursing these funds, because they need to be monitored and evaluated properly,’’ he said.
The chairman said that the crisis in the North-East was enormous, adding that IDPs and returning refugees were in dire need of protection and assistance.
He commended the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI) for their performances, in spite their dwindling resources. (NAN)
LIZ/TY/EMO/DUA
Edited by Ejike Obeta/Dada Ahmed