President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Wednesday in Abuja that he expected
\nmembers of Nigerian\u2019s vibrant private sector and friends of the country in
\nthe international community to donate very generously to the Victims\u2019
\nSupport which will be formally launched tomorrow to provide more relief
\nand succour for all those who have been adversely affected by terrorism
\nand insurgency in the country.<\/p>\n
Speaking at separate audiences with the Secretary-General of the
\nCommonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, and the Executive Director of the
\nUnited Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin,
\nPresident Jonathan said that he hoped that over a 12-month period, about
\n$500 Million would have been raised through the fund to further alleviate
\nthe sufferings and deprivations imposed on Nigerians living in states
\nworst affected by terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
The President who reaffirmed his administration\u2019s commitment to doing all
\nwithin its powers to help victims of insurgency and terrorism rebuild
\ntheir lives and communities, said that the fund, which will be managed by
\na non-governmental organization, will also be deployed in support of the
\nrebuilding of destroyed schools and the creation of a safer environment
\nfor education in affected states.<\/p>\n
Welcoming the pledges of support from the Commonwealth and UNFPA, made by
\nMr. Sharma and Prof. Osotimehin, President Jonathan said that his
\nadministration appreciated the solidarity of the International Community
\nas it grapples with the challenging task of overcoming the twin scourges
\nof terrorism and insurgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to work very hard to deal with the problem. It is a major
\nchallenge and we welcome all the assistance we can get,\u201d the President
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He also assured Mr. Sharma that Nigeria remains fully committed to the
\ngoals of the Commonwealth and will continue to support all efforts to
\nreform and strengthen the organization for the benefit of member-countries
\nand their people.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sharma had told the President that he was in Abuja to express the
\nCommonwealth\u2019s full solidarity with Nigeria as it contends with the very
\ndifficult task of overcoming insurgency and terrorism, and to also explore
\nways in which the Commonwealth could assist Nigeria in that regard.<\/p>\n
Prof. Osotimehin said that UNFPA was already working with the National
\nEmergency Management Agency (NEMA) and its civil society partners in
\nNigeria to provide a measure of support to families and girls in some
\naffected states.<\/p>\n
He expressed the hope that the United Nations will evolve a comprehensive
\nprogramme in support of efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis
\ncaused by terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Wednesday in Abuja that he expected members of Nigerian\u2019s vibrant private sector and friends of the country in the international community to donate very generously…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n