By Kelechukwu Iruoma

The decision of National Assembly to allocate N10bn in the 2016 budget for the rebuilding of North-East devastated by Boko Haram insurgency has been described by North-East Youth Peace Development and Empowerment Initiative, NEYPDI, as insignificant.

Alhaji Kyari Abubakar, President, NEYPDI, told Vanguard that though youths of six states that made up North-East are grateful that the National Assembly made provision in the budget for the rebuilding of the zone, the amount budgeted cannot achieve much.

He said, “If you know the level of devastation caused by Boko Haram in Borno State alone, you would realise that the amount budgeted in this year’s budget can only take care of a local government area.”

Abubakar who is also the chairman, Lagos State chapter, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, urged the National Assembly to consider the plight of displaced persons with the view of increasing the allocation for the rebuilding of the zone.

Abubakar who revealed that in his capacity as the President of NEYPDI, he has visited some unidentified camps both in the north and southern part of the country said the amount cannot take care of one quarter of the identified Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) before thinking of the unidentified ones.

He said: “When I went around camps in the country, I discovered that there are so many camps especially in southern parts of the country unknown to government and concerned organisations which no body is catering for them.”

He urged the federal government in conjunction with states involved to have a demographic data of the IDPs in the country before making realistic budget on how to resettle the people.

“The problem we have is that there is no comprehensive data of the displaced persons and it is a concern to us on how the government would be able to resettle the people adequately without the data.”

Abubakar reiterated the call for the setting up of North-East Development Commission by the federal government to handle the rebuilding of the zone, adding that the best way to deal with the challenge of rebuilding the zone is to have development commission.