The Federal Government has urged the United Nations to assist Nigeria in accessing long-term funding to address humanitarian challenges associated with internal displacement.
Speaking during a roundtable on Humanitarian Development, Peacebuilding Approaches to Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, urged the UN to assist the Federal Government in accessing long-term funds to find sustainable solutions to internal displacements.
He stated that if the Federal Government had access to $10 billion at 4%, it could be used to address the country’s humanitarian challenges, explaining that it could generate wealth for the internally displaced persons.
The minister stated that funds could be obtained from the capital market for long-term investments to address humanitarian issues, emphasising that development partners’ funding was no longer sustainable as grants were decreasing.
Bagudu stated that the Federal Government's macroeconomic policies were designed to curb waste and enable the three tiers of government to better handle developmental issues.
He stated that increased revenue to the states was intentional to enable them to handle developmental issues such as the provision of infrastructure.
The minister said the Renewed Hope Ward-based Development Plan and the Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities (SOLID), initiated by the President Bola Tinubu administration, would assist in addressing humanitarian challenges by mapping economic opportunities across the country's 8809 wards for scale-up.
In his contribution, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Yusuf Sununu, stated that durable solutions in the country must evolve from response to prevention, from donor dependency to national leadership, and from fragmented action to whole-of-government accountability.
According to him, “Nigeria’s humanitarian response is experiencing a steep reduction in external funding, threatening programme continuity and the scale of operations.”
He praised the collaboration between the government and development partners, explaining that it would transform the humanitarian burden into opportunities for inclusive development and national stability.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Mohammed Fall, praised the Federal Government for its efforts in addressing humanitarian issues in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and other states in the North Central region.
He promised that the UN will continue supporting FG to address the humanitarian challenges facing the country, adding that it has become necessary for the internally displaced to recover their dignity and get back on their feet.
The roundtable was also attended by representatives from the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), and the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE).
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