By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Borno state government has said that it had planned to empower 150 women in Chibok local government area with poultry and fishing facilities as part of its post-insurgency Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement programme.
The Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), Dr. Babagana Umara, disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Maiduguri.
He said the women would be trained in poultry and fish farming to enable them to acquire means of livelihood.
According to him, the beneficiaries would be supported with tools to set up their own businesses after the training.
“We are going to empower 150 women from Chibok with means of livelihood. One hundred of them will be trained in poultry, while 50 will be empowered to engage in fish farming,” he said.
The commissioner added that another set of 50 women would be empowered through the Fadama farming project.
“We also want to empower 50 women in villages through the Fadama project. But the task of selecting these women lies with the chairman, Caretaker Committee of Chibok local government.”
Umara added that government would also distribute foodstuff to members of the community as part of its relief to communities ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.
“By next week, we shall distribute food items to members of the community to provide relief before the farming season. Governor Kashim Shettima is very much concerned about the water problem in Chibok and he has directed that everything possible must be done to tackle the problem.
“That is why we have sunk six boreholes in the area; we are in the process of reticulating the boreholes for maximum output.”
He said the project would be completed by the end of June, disclosing that the state government had purchased 30 heavy duty trucks for the construction of the Chibok-Nbalala road which was in deplorable state.
“Government has purchased 30 trucks to empower the State Road Maintenance Agency toward construction of the Chibok-Nbalala road, which is a federal road.
“The agency has moved to site but lack of equipment has been the major obstacle. With the acquisition of the trucks, the project would be completed within the year. Government is also constructing 60 houses for victims of insurgency in Chibok. We have reached advanced stage in the construction of the 60 houses for victims of insurgency, especially the vulnerable ones, in Chibok.
“We are hoping that donor agencies will come in to complement our efforts on these projects.”
