North-East Ambassadors Group visits Borno State

• North-East Ambassadors Group meets State Governor, H.E. Babagana Umara Zulum, and Theatre Commander, Major General Waidi Shaibu, and visits sites in Maiduguri to explore how to achieve sustainable solutions to displacement. 

Abuja, 07 March 2024

A large delegation of the North-East Ambassadors Group visited Maiduguri, Borno State, Thursday for high-level discussions with the State Governor and Theatre Commander on achieving safe, sustainable solutions to displacement in the North-East.

The North-East Ambassadors Group, which is Chaired by the British High Commissioner, Richard Montgomery, is formed of Ambassadors, High Commissioners, heads of international financing institutions, the United Nations and other international bodies, who share a strong interest in the security, stabilisation and development of the North-East region, as well as the provision of life-saving humanitarian assistance.

The North-East Ambassadors Group visited Maiduguri at the invitation of the Governor to discuss the State’s plans to provide sustainable solutions for displaced people and host communities in Borno State, which has been at the centre of the violent ‘Boko Haram’ insurgency for over 13 years. The United Nations estimates that over two million internally displaced people are currently living in North-East Nigeria, the majority – around 1.7 million – in Borno State.

During the visit, the delegation visited the Borno State Governor, His Excellency Babagana Umara Zulum and was also received by Theatre Commander, Major General Waidi Shaib. They discussed the Government’s plans to ensure internally displaced persons are given a free choice in where they choose to build their lives, and discussed how the Government and security forces can collaborate to ensure this is done in conditions of safety and support.

The delegation also visited the Female Second Chance School and Muna Garage informal settlement to meet with internally displaced communities and understand how the policies and programmes of the Government are impacting their lives.

Throughout the visit, partners discussed the role of the international community in supporting the Government of Nigeria to meet the needs of internally displaced people in North-East Nigeria, including continuing to provide peacebuilding interventions, development aid, and humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people who remain in need of immediate life-saving assistance.

Representatives of Member States who visited Maiduguri include Belgium, Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Egypt, Japan, Norway, Spain, the US and the UK. Representatives from ECHO and USAID, ICRC, United Nations and the office of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement, were also present.