Yelewata: Benue details ₦1.275bn IDP spending, advances resettlement plan

By Johnson Arua

The Benue State Government has outlined how it deployed the ₦1.275 billion donated to support victims of the June 13, 2025 Yelewata attack, announcing major strides in relief, recovery and resettlement.

Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the Technical Committee, Barr. Deborah Iber, said the intervention was designed to directly reflect the needs of displaced persons.

She recalled that the attack drew national attention, prompting President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the state. According to her, the President “promised that those behind the dastardly act will be apprehended and brought to justice” and assured that security would be strengthened.

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, donated ₦1 billion during her visit, while additional contributions came from the Nasarawa State Government (₦150 million), United Bank for Africa (₦100 million) and the Director-General of the DSS (₦25 million), bringing the total to ₦1.275 billion.

Mrs. Iber said Governor Hyacinth Alia constituted a technical committee to ensure proper implementation of the funds. “Our mandate was clear — identify the needs of the displaced persons and their host communities,” she stated, adding that the committee began sitting on August 19, 2025.

She explained that IDP representatives were invited to Makurdi to present their priority needs. “We did this so it would not seem the state was solving a perceived problem, but the real needs of the people,” she said.

The needs identified included food, shelter, health, education, livelihoods and water. While Yelewata was prioritised, she noted that support was extended to other displaced communities. “We mapped beneficiaries and carried host communities along in all we did,” she added.

Under the cash transfer programme, ₦56.325 million was approved, with ₦50,000 paid per household through Novus Bank.

Mrs. Iber disclosed that the exercise recorded “90 percent success,” explaining that delays were due to incomplete NIN documentation.

For food and nutrition, ₦224.5 million was allocated and distribution flagged off in December 2025 by the State Emergency Management Agency. In the health sector, ₦112.25 million funded a clinic at the International Market camp and enrolled 5,883 IDPs into the state health insurance scheme at ₦10,000 per person.

Addressing water challenges, she said three boreholes were drilled in Yelewata and water reticulated to resettlement areas. A water treatment plant built in Naka with EU support and implemented by IOM was recently commissioned, ending what she described as “a 40-year clean water drought” in the area.

In education, ₦148.175 million supported the construction of four classrooms in Yelewata, provision of books and school bags, and a makeshift school at the camp.

Agricultural support provided seedlings, pesticides and training. “We taught them improved farming methods so they can rebuild their livelihoods,” she said.

The resettlement component received ₦277.35 million, with 60 housing units under construction in Yelewata. “38 houses are at roofing stage, three already roofed, and only five have not reached that level,” she disclosed, admitting that the homes “cannot accommodate all the IDPs, but that is what the funds can provide for now.”

Mrs. Iber said the state, working with partners including UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF and security agencies, developed a resettlement model that would relocate families closer to their ancestral homes and farmlands. “Our goal is to return our people to dignified homes and restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives,” she said.