President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a change in the management of the humanitarian situation in the North-East, putting ministers in direct charge of coordination.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, explained in a statement that before now, coordination of the humanitarian situation was managed by civil servants on the level of director.
“But in a decision to upgrade and elevate the governance structure, the President has approved a modification of the structure by putting cabinet ministers in charge of governmental response to the humanitarian emergency caused by the insurgency in the North-East,” the statement read in part.
He explained that an inter-ministerial task force had been established by the President to coordinate the response and work with humanitarian agencies to support the governments and other structures in the affected states.
In the task force, each sector will now be led by a minister while the entire task force is led by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, which will now coordinate and mobilise the domestic, governmental and private sector resources necessary to effectively meet this challenge with the urgency it demands.
The statement added, “The ministers who will now personally supervise their ministry’s role in the newly modified governance structure include Ministers of Health, Interior, Women Affairs, Agriculture and Water Resources.
“The National Security Adviser and the Chief of Army Staff, National Emergency Management Agency and the Presidential Committee on North-East Intervention would also be actively involved in the new elevated response model approved by the President.”
