The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has lauded Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State for hosting and taking care of the Cameroonian refugees in the state.
Many months now, the state government has been taking care of over 10,000 refugees who escaped from Cameroun as a result of the ongoing crisis in the country and are taking refuge in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
West Africa Regional Representative of UNHCR, Mrs. Louis Ahua, gave the commendation, on Thursday, when she led a delegation to pay a courtesy call on Governor Ortom at the Benue State Government House, in Makurdi.
Mrs. Ahua, who was accompanied on the visit by the agency’s representative in Nigeria, Mr. Antonio Kanhandula, said the governor’s support had in no small way complemented the agency’s humanitarian work of providing the welfare of refugees, many of whom were being camped in Kwande Local Government Area of the state.
She commiserated with Governor Ortom over the attacks in the state which have resulted in the killing of many lives and displacement of thousands of people even as she assured of the agency’s support for his administration to do more.
In his response, Governor Ortom, while thanking the UNHCR for donating vehicles to his government to better cater for the refugees, noted that the little challenge of the refugees with the immediate community was being addressed by the Tor Tiv.
He added that if after the intervention of the Tor Tiv, the matter was still not resolved, he would personally step in so that the refugees would have a peaceful stay in Benue State.
