Customs Inaugurates National Committee On Donation Of Relief Materials To IDPs

The Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali, has inaugurated the National Logistics Committee on Donation of Relief Materials to IDPs.
He said the inauguration of the committee was a call to national duty and an obligation to care for fellow Nigerians in need.
Ali explained at the committee’s inauguration that the aim was to transfer relief materials in customs warehouses directly to the IDPs in various parts of the country.
According to him, the assignment given by Mr President is a call to national service, adding that it will demand for sacrifice, commitment and above all high sense of integrity.
“We are living witnesses to the havoc which insurgency has wreaked on our dear country, numerous lives have been lost, property destroyed.
“Young Nigerians in their millions have been turned to orphans, women have become widows, and families have been separated.
“The political economy of the North-East, which bears the major brunt of the insurgency, is indeed in a precarious situation that requires assistance from well-meaning Nigerians’’, Ali said.
He explained that the relief materials to be distributed to the IDPs “are not seized and abandoned goods; but goods that had been forfeited to the Federal Government.’’
Ali gave the terms of reference of the committee as planning and executing the logistics involved in distribution of relief materials to the IDPs.
He said that the committee would establish contacts with existing camps for the purpose of direct handover of relief materials.
The committee would also provide security cover for relief materials in transit and in the camps before handover.
Ali added that the committee would also collaborate with customs in provision of appropriate logistic support for the operation and ensuring the operation was carried out with strict adherence to transparency and integrity.
He commended the Armed Forces for their efforts in routing the insurgents and ensuring Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Chairman of the committee is Assistant Comptroller-General, Headquarters, Sanusi Umar.
NAN recalls that President Muhammudu Buhari had directed the Nigeria Customs Service to move relief materials in various customs warehouses for the use of IDPs in the country.
Members of the committee are drawn from customs, immigration, army, air force, police, EFCC, NGOs, media, among others, to ensure transparency and creditability.