Buhari orders ministry to reunite IDPs with families

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, to intensify efforts to re-unite families whose members are currently scattered in different camps for Internally Displaced Persons as a result of activities of the Boko Haram sect.

This was just as the authorities of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory disclosed that all was now set for the introduction of a new tax regime in the FCT.



According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the issues came up when officials of the two ministries took turns to brief Buhari of their activities inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

After receiving the briefing of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara, the President was said to have expressed concern about the well-being of children in the camps.

He ordered that appropriate mechanisms should be put in place to ensure the proper up-bringing of the children, so that they do not grow up to become another national problem.

Buhari also called for a follow-up on the supervision and audit of constituency projects.

The statement also quoted the Permanent Secretary! FCT, Mr. John Chukwu, as telling Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo that all was now set for the introduction of a new tax regime in the territory.

“The property tax and the tenement rate will be collected together and a sharing formula has been devised between the ministry and the council areas in order to avoid multiple taxation,” he said.

At the end of the briefing, Osinbajo urged the MFCT to explore alternative sources to boost its revenue base and reduce its dependence on the currently lean resources of the Federal Government for the development and maintenance of infrastructure in Abuja.

“With the coming of the FCT Internal Revenue Board and property taxation, you must be able to generate substantial income to take care of your needs,” the Vice President said.

He praised the Permanent Secretary and his team for what he called a ‘very comprehensive, very detailed and adequate reporting’ on the activities of the Ministry.