Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has visited Benue State and donated N50 million to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the north-central state.
Speaking during a courtesy call on Governor Samuel Ortom, Atiku also called for more support for IDPs.
The former vice president also recalled how he led the first-ever private sector contribution to the fight against the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic which elicited and encouraged others to support the course.
While calling for peaceful co-existence between the Fulanis and other tribes in the state and country, he warned against ethnic profiling, especially of criminals.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar poses for a group photograph with Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and other govt officials on February 6, 2022. Credit: @atiku.
He equally commended the administration of Governor Ortom for his peacebuilding efforts in Benue, calling on leaders to bring every Nigerian together, regardless of their religious, political, and ethnic differences.
The former vice president said he told the governor that since his last visit to Benue in 2019, he has always wished to see the IDP camps.
“I don’t label anybody, either ethnically or religiously. As leaders, we should try as much as possible to bring all our people together to understand themselves,” he said.
“The other time I visited the IDPs camp in 2019, since then I have not returned. I want to announce my own donation for their upkeep of N50 million.
“Let me recall at the beginning of the corona pandemic. I was one of the first initial donors in the private sector. My donation was not the highest, it was also N50 million. After that, so many donations came into billions.”
Over 1.5 million persons have been displaced following the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in the state with several others killed.
){kind=link}