The Federal Government has said Bama Local Government Area in Borno State is safe and 90 per cent rebuilt.
It said when the reconstruction is complete, and the Army certifies the area safe, people will start returning home.
The Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiatives (PCNI) spoke yesterday in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, during a three-day workshop for journalists and social media influencers.
The workshop was themed: “Utilizing New Media for Humanitarian and Developmental Reportage”.
According to PCNI’s Head of Media and Communications, Alkasim Abdulkadir, 25,000 victims have benefitted from the free medical care between January and April.
His words: “Our work is governed by international conventions. Most important is that there is an international convention, called the Kampala declaration, which says you cannot take people from safety to harm. We only work based on the instructions of the military and the Nigerian Security high command.
“When they certify a certain area as safe, we begin reconstruction and when that is completed, and the Army still certifies it as safe, we then begin to migrate people from where they are.
“Last week, next week and all through the coming month, people will slowly migrate back to Bama which has been certified safe. Bama was 100 per cent destroyed. But, at the moment, I can satisfactorily tell you it is about 90 per cent rebuilt. The reconstruction was possible with the help of the state government, International agencies, organisations like the Victims Supports Funds (VSF) and PCNI.
“We will continue to reconstruct areas that are deemed safe, as well as advice and persuade people to return to those areas.
“This is April 2018, and between January and now, we have treated about 25,000 people free. We have gone round n Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba, Gombe and Bauchi States, providing free medical treatment to the people.
“As part of efforts to ensure that the Northeast bounces back, we are committed to rebuilding an entire community like Bama and Dikwa, build schools, hospitals, police stations, so that the Northeast can regain its former glory, even better.”