Yobe government will domesticate the country’s IDP policy.

After twelve years of existence, the Yobe State administration is about to become the first in Nigeria to domesticate the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

At a Special Session with Development Partners, Governor Mai Buni, represented by his Secretary to the State Government, Baba Malam-Wali, disclosed that the state will set aside 5% of its overall budget for 2015, 2016, and 2017 to assist long-term solutions for internally displaced people.

Yobe is the first state in the nation to respond to the agenda and solution to displacement proposed by the UN Secretary-General by taking proactive measures to address the multifaceted issues surrounding displacement.

“I am happy to report that Yobe State has successfully built, renovated, and established new structures over the past five years. In addition, Yobe State has provided healthcare, built roads, supplied electricity, and provided water to make life more meaningful for the returning host communities.”

He said, “I am happy to notify you that Yobe State will dedicate 5% of its total budget for 2015, 2016, and 2017 to the long-term solution of internally displaced people in the state.”

Three main goals were to be covered, as previously stated by Dauda Suleiman, the project coordinator for Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities, in his opening remarks.

“The policy aims to ensure the state complies with national, regional, and international legal instruments to provide a comprehensive framework for the protection of internally displaced persons,” he stated. “The objectives are to enable the state to have clear strategies for the achievement of durable solutions for the displaced population through the solution pathways, afford social and economic opportunities to the internally displaced population.”

To find a long-term solution for the IDPs, the Yobe state government and its donor partners met with representatives of the World Bank, UNDP, International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and other partners under the project Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities (SOLID).

The partners committed to collaborating with the Yobe administration and the host communities to guarantee their dignified return to their ancestral homes.

Recall that in 2012, the Nigerian government unveiled a National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that guarantees some rights against displacement as well as protection and aid, particularly for the most impacted groups—women and children.