NYSC Camp: Adamawa Govt set to merge IDP camps

The Adamawa Government has announced that it will merge the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the state from three to two.

Mr Haruna Furo, Executive Chairman, State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), disclosed this in an interview with our reporter in Yola on Wednesday.

Furo said that the development was to enable the state government reopen the state NYSC orientation camp which was turned to an IDP camp in the last three years.

He said that the camp before it became an IDP camp in 2014, was the largest Technical Training and Skills Acquisition Centre in the state.

Furo, who is also a Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, confirmed that there were three IDP camps in the state, including the NYSC camp, Malkohi and Fufore, all hosting no fewer than 5,000 IDPs.

“The NYSC IDP camp at Damare has less than 1,300 IDPs from the initial population of over 9,000, while Malkohi camp with an initial figure of 6,000 IDPs, now has about 1,000.

“So, we are going to relocate the IDPs from the NYSC camp to Malkohi and at least, when these two camps are merged together, we are going to concentrate the humanitarian work in the two formal camps of Malkohi and Fufore only.’’ Furo said.

He noted that as Humanitarian actors and custodians of Human rights, they would not close down all the camps, adding that most of the remaining IDPs living in the camps presently were unaccompanied Women and Children.

Furo explained that from the development, many IDPs from the NYSC and Malkohi camps had indicated their interest to be relocated to community settlement camps within Yola town and suburbs.

He said that the development would enable the IDPs to interact and conduct their normal activities freely with their host communities.

“Now, Adamawa is peaceful, stable and everybody is going about his/her normal business,’’ Furo added.