Ortom’s arms recovery programmes ‘ll curb violence’

•Gov. Ortom

The United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has hailed the illegal arms recovery initiative of Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.

It said if the programme succeeds, it will reduce communal clashes, thereby reducing the number of internally displaced persons (IDPS) and refugees.

The Country Representative of the commission, Mrs. Angelle Atangana, expressed the excitement yesterday when she visited the governor at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi.

She said: “If the initiative succeeds it will curb the incidence of communal violence and reduce cases of internally displaced persons and refugees.”

The representative hailed the people of Benue State for hosting refugees from Cameroon and taking care of them until they returned to their country.

Mrs. Atangana told the governor that they built over 200 houses for the IDP’s in the state, provided relief materials to them along with victims of floods and sued for a more robust collaboration with the state government to achieve more.

Governor Ortom expressed the commitment of his administration to sustain partnership with donor agencies and development partners.

He stated that as a demonstration of this commitment, he included N5 billion in a supplementary budget he submitted to the House of Assembly for approval to enable him pay counterpart funding demanded by the partners.

The governor restated the commitment of his administration to ensure peace and stability in the state and noted that it was in the light of this that he granted amnesty to those willing to submit illegal arms as well as held meetings with relevant security operatives, among others.

According to him, at the end of the expiration of the amnesty on August 31, security agents would go after those who possess illegal arms and recover them.

Ortom, who acknowledged efforts by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to provide shelter and relief materials for internally displaced persons, praised the commission for the assistance and assured that government would collaborate with the commission to implement more of its programmes.