BY Fredrick Nwabufo
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday directed Danladi Kifasi, head of service of the federation, to immediately release N5 billion that the federal government of Goodluck Jonathan promised the Victims Support Fund (VSF) committee.
Buhari gave the directive when he received Theophilus Danjuma, chairman of the committee, who was at the villa to update him on the state of the fund and its support to victims of Boko Haram attacks.
The briefing came one week after victims of various bomb blasts in the north since 2010 urged claimed that as much as N80 billion had been raised by the committee, and urged Buhari to probe its spending.
Danjuma revealed that of the N55.92 billion pledged at the launch in July 2014, only N23 billion has been redeemed while N33.54 was still being expected.
Among the debtors, he explained, were the federal government, which had yet to redeem its pledge of N5 billion. This pldge Buhari told Kifasi to immediately redeem.
“You know we were launched during the fundraising which took place a year ago. The total amount of money that was pledged by various contributors was slightly more than N50 billion,” he told state house correspondents after meeting the president.
“Of this amount, only N23 billion has so far been redeemed, so there is a lot of money out there. Of the organisations and individuals, that have not fulfilled their pledges, the federal government is one. We are expecting N5 billion from the federal government and the president promised today that he would honour the pledge of the federal government.”
Danjuma said the committee was pleading quietly with donors that had not redeemed their pledges, but warned that it could be forced to resort to “naming and shaming” if the situation persists.
He also promised to continue wroking for the interests of the victims, saying: “We will continue to ask people who pledged to honour their pledges. You, the press, should assist us in raising the fund.
“This is because N20 billion is a drop in the ocean compared to the needs. And if really the war stops tomorrow, already those displaced are really looking for support to go back to their homes and this N20 billion is nothing.”
After approving release of the money, Buhari had urged the committee to ensure proper coordination with other government agencies providing support and assistance to victims of terrorism.
He assured the committee that his administration was taking proactive steps to defeat terrorism in the country, and expressed optimism that the full deployment of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) under the auspices of member-states of Lake Chad Basin Commission, will further boost ongoing military operations against the insurgents.
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