AGAIN: EU Approves €143m Package for North-east

The European Union (EU) Commission has
announced a support package of €143 million to
help the early recovery and reconstruction
needs in Nigeria’s North-east, which has been
ravaged by insurgency.


The package is for the provision of basic
services including energy, education and health,
job creation, strengthening, monitoring and
evaluation systems, as well as public financial
management systems.


The Minister of Budget and National Planning,
Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who signed the
agreement for the package on behalf of Nigeria
in Brussels, Belgium, said the support
underscored yet another positive effort in the
collaboration between the EU and Nigerian
government to collectively work towards
ameliorating the sufferings of victims of the
Boko Haram insurgency.


A statement issued by the minister’s media
adviser, Mr. Akpandem James, said Udoma
noted that the financing agreement signed
Thursday was for the sum of €20 million from
the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.


“A total sum of €143 million is now secured
from the EU under this framework for
ameliorating the sufferings of the affected
population estimated at more than 14 million
people,” Udoma added.


According to him, since the resurgence of the
humanitarian crisis in the North-east, the
Nigerian government has devoted substantial
resources to bring the situation under control,
meet the humanitarian needs of the victims, and
restore normalcy to the area.

However, in spite of the efforts, the minister
said there still exists a huge funding gap, adding
that this was why the Nigerian government was
appreciative of the support of the EU and the
United Nations system, which have been very
useful in leading the other development partners
in the support process.


Udoma noted that the process for the selection
of implementation partners was at an advanced
stage with the World Bank and some of the
components of the project.




“This demonstrates the fact that the EU is
committed to the timely execution of the
project, and the bureaucracy that is traditionally
associated with the EDF instrument will be
minimised in the implementation of this project,”
he added.



In his remarks, the EU Commissioner for
International Cooperation and Development
Neven Mimica said the support package would
assist approximately 1.3 million internally
displaced people (IDP) and affected
communities in and around Borno State.


“Our assistance will not only target the
immediate needs of the people, it will also help
to restore basic services, stimulate employment
and create livelihood opportunities, particularly
for women and young people,” Mimika said.


The Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and
Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said:
“The European Union is committed to get
lifesaving aid to those in need in Nigeria.


Emergency aid can help them but to do so, aid
organisations need safe and full access to do
their jobs.”


He added that EU also needed to think about
the long-term implications and how to help
communities recover.




“I have visited the country several times and
seen the sufferings of the victims of terrorism
and also the strength and determination of the
local people to rebuild their lives. It is this
desire to rebuild a better future that the EU will
support,” he stressed.

Soj