ABUJA – The increasing number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to insurgency, is a threat to the nation’s economic development, the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA), has said.
Miss Chioma Osuji, the Policy Advisor to the organisation, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Osuji said that the number of IDPs in legal and illegal camps were too many for only the government to cater for.
She expressed concern that monies budgeted for other sectors were being channelled to improving the welfare of the IDPs, pointing out that this would further affect project implementation in those other sectors.
“Government cannot sufficiently meet the needs of the displaced persons on ground already; it is really eating deep into the budget of the country.
“The more the Internally Displaced Persons increase in size, monies that would have been used for something else, would be used to cater for the IDPs,” she said.
She, however, urged Nigerians and CSOs to identify these camps and assist in catering for the displaced persons.
She also advised Nigerians, particularly youths, not to engage in any form of violence during the forthcoming elections, to avoid displacing more people.
Osuji told newsmen that the many parents and communities were unwilling to send their kids to school due to insurgent attacks on schools.
She added that parents now preferred to keep their children at home, to ensure their safety.