The
federal government has finally released N5.7 billion for victims of the 2011
post-election violence, even as Niger State governor Babangida Aliyu has urged
politicians to think about the survival of the nation rather than pursuing
selfish interest that resulted in the last violence.
Aliyu,
who was represented by his deputy Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, while presenting a
cheque to victims of the April 2011 post-election violence in the state at
Government Lodge in Minna, said that before the release of funds by the federal
government, the state government had earlier helped the victims in recovering
from the shock of the incident.
He said:
“Let me take this opportunity to call on the political class in this country to
exercise utmost caution and high sense of responsibility in all our actions and
utterances before, during and after elections.
“Democracy
goes beyond periodic elections, and the survival of our nation should be
paramount in all that we do. We must therefore always put the interest of our
nation before any personal interests or primordial sentiments. ”
Calling
on the beneficiaries to use the money judiciously, he stated that it’s only
with true patriotic citizenry dedicated to the survival and development of the
nation that great nation building could be guaranteed.
The
minister of lands, housing and urban development, Mrs Amal Pepple, represented
by a director in the ministry, Margaret Okolo Ebube, had earlier stated that
Niger State was the first where the victims of the post-election violence would
be presented with cheques.
She
stated that after the states submitted their reports, the ministry went to the
states to ascertain some of the things that wete contained in the reports and
submitted to the government, leading to the release of N5.5 billion to the nine
states in the first batch.
She added
that the government would still come out with the second batch for some states
that were also affected, saying that the action of the federal government was
not to replace what was lost but to identify with the people.
She said,
“No payment can make for the losses. This is just the usual way of President
Goodluck Jonathan of identifying with the losses of the people as a government
that is responsible and feel the pains of the people.”
The
secretary to the state government, Hon. Saidu Idris Ndako Kpaki, also disclosed
that N433 million was received for 126 post-election violence victims in the
state.
