Nigeria, Cameroon launch fresh partnership to repatriate refugees to Nigerian State
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) – Nigeria and Cameroon have launched a fresh partnership for the repatriation of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge in some parts of Minawao Camp in Cameroon back to Borno State in Nigeria.
Governor of Far-North Region of Cameroon, Mr Midjiyawa Bakari, said this on Tuesday in Maiduguri, Nigeria, during a meeting between his delegation. including representatives of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs). with Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state.
Bakari, who is also the sitting Executive Secretary of the Forum of Governors of Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), explained that they were in Borno as part of bilateral cooperation to ensure restoration of peace and civil authority in some parts of the communities ravaged by insurgents in the region, which has left thousands of innocent civilians homeless in the past seven years.
He said the visit is a follow-up to the resolutions of the last Session of the Forum of Governors of Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, which took place from the 4th to the 5th of October 2021, in Yaounde, Cameroon.
During this forum, he said, he agreed to to follow up in each member State, Region and Province of the Basin of Lake Chad, put in place of priority actions of the Territorial Actions Plans (TAPS), that were presented to their development partners, validated and sanctioned in the Final Communiqué.
"It is therefore an opportunity for me to see the reality of the realisations and acquaint myself with the realities in the field, the challenges encountered, so that together we can know our strengths and weaknesses. Recall that the region has faced a global menace, and there should be a global action and common strategies to combat it," Bakari said.
He added that the meeting will present the perspectives of ameliorating transborder cooperation in the management of ex-associates and ex-fighters of Boko Haram and the problems of transitional justice and the procedure of the repatriation of ex-fighters of Boko Haram after executing their prison terms.
Responding, Governor Zulum commended Bakari for the visit, and pledged that his administration will continue to give maximum support and cooperation to find a lasting and durable solution to the over decade crisis.
Zulum said, since the displacement of people living on the shores of Lake Chad, Borno people taking refuge in Cameroon, Niger and Chad Republic are being treated well.
-0- PANA MON/MA 24Aug2022
