Buhari Pledges $3m For Take-Off Of AU Humanitarian Agency

Buhari Pledges $3m For Take-Off Of AU Humanitarian Agency

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to donate the sum of $3 million on behalf of the country for the take-off of the African Union Humanitarian Agency. President Buhari made the pledge on Friday at the 16th African Union Extra-ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Humanitarian Crises in African and Pledging Conference, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, This is coming just as the African Union Chairman and President of Senegal, Macky Sall, also pledged $3m on behalf of his country, urging other African leaders to contribute to the establishment of the agency.

President of the host country, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo also pledged $4m with additional $2m for the new agency, while also announced donation of another $2m will go to Mozambique The development is contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu. In the statement made available to Saturday Tele-graph on Friday, Shehu stated that Buhari called for more concerted and institutionalized effort in ameliorating the suffering of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Africa. “We cannot deny the fact that we have a very dangerous humanitarian crisis in our hands,” he said, adding that the violent onslaught by Boko Haram insurgents on the North East of Nigeria had led to humanitarian crises. He noted that the humanitarian crisis necessitated the creation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, which was designed to provide a national response strategy.

“This is in line with the Kampala Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons. I am glad to inform Your Excellencies that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs of Nigeria has continued to live up to its mandate in responding quickly to all situations of displaced persons and disaster management. The President said the ministry also broadened its scope of operations by caring for deprived school children in the country.