Relief materials sold to traders in Adamawa

culled from Daily Trust
Officials in Adamawa State government have allegedly diverted and sold off relief items donated by the Nigeria Customs Service to victims of Boko Haram insurgency.
Daily Trust investigations revealed that markets in Yola, the state capital, were flooded with relief items in August, soon after the delivery of the items which were, according to credible reports, sold to traders in bulk.



Customs authorities had in August released 11 trucks of seized items which included spaghetti, rice, vegetable oil, new and used clothes, shoes, soap and a host of other materials for the internally displaced persons and other people affected by insurgency in the state.
An official involved in the distribution told our correspondent that supplies worth millions of naira were secretly sold to traders while some high ranking politicians took away large volumes of the donated items which they shared to their supporters.
When contacted, the Deputy Coordinator of the Poverty Alleviation office, Sadiq Daware, confirmed the receipt of 11 trucks of supplies in August which he said were distributed according to a template from the deputy governor’s office.
He said the supplies were distributed to intended beneficiaries, including the displaced persons living in camps as well as vulnerable communities across the state.
He said the items meant for the three existing IDP camps in the state were handed over to the State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) while those earmarked for distribution in all the 21 local government areas were entrusted in the hands of politicians, including commissioners and governor’s aides  for delivery to beneficiaries.
The deputy coordinator added that materials earmarked for communities affected by recent conflict between herders and farmers in Girei and Demsa LGs were given to the respective council chairmen for onward distribution to victims.
Daware said the total quantity of items delivered to ADSEMA for the three IDPs camps included 900 jerry cans of cooking oil, 60 bales of brocade clothing material, 300 cartons each of soap, spaghetti and macaroni, 20 cartons of mosquito nets, 20 bales of wrapper, among others. He commended the Deputy Governor, Eng. Martin Babale,  for his unrelenting commitment to ensuring equitable  distribution of the materials.
“Whoever tells you the items were diverted is very far away from the truth,” he asserted.
The ADSEMA Executive Secretary, Haruna Furo, told Daily Trust that the Agency received only 600 jerry cans of vegetable oil as opposed to 900 indicated by the Poverty Alleviation office. He also said he received only 30 bales of brocade as opposed to 60, nine bags of spaghetti as opposed to 100 cartons as well as 100 cartons of soap instead of 300.
An official of Madagali who did not want his name published, condemned the manner of distribution of the materials, saying his area did not receive the relief items despite being the worst affected in the state with the largest population of  insurgency victims, calling for a thorough investigation by the federal government.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/relief-materials-sold-to-traders-in-adamawa/169922.html#7c3yZBVKMg4wrvhL.99