By Ovie Okpare
The Delta State Government has officially announced the closure of the internally displaced persons camp for Indigenes of Okuama community in Ewu Kingdom of Ughelli South LGA.
The closure is coming seven months after the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, inaugurated the IDP Camp as a temporary shelter for displaced indigenes of the community following the destruction of the entire town by the Nigerian military over the killing of 17 military personnel by unknown gunmen around the community riverbank.
Chairman of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Management Committee, Mr. Abraham Ogbodo, announced the closure of the camp on behalf of the state government at Ewu town in Ughelli South on Tuesday.
Ogbodo, a former editor of the Guardian Newspaper, said with the completion of the camp duties, his committee will now move into post-camp duty, which he said is to rebuild the destroyed community.
Flanked by the Ughelli South HPM and Secretary of the IDP Management Committee, Olorogun Austin Emaduku; Camp Commandant, Dcn Austin Ohwofaria and other members of the committee, Ogbodo commended Governor Oborevwori and the Delta Government for the support given to the committee.
He also commended federal government agencies, prominent Nigerians, and groups who donated to keep the camp alive for seven months.
Ogbodo noted that no casualty or unfortunate incident was recorded throughout the period of the camp.
He disclosed that the IDP Management Committee received a total of N62 million, of which a total of N60 million was expended on camp activities, including building of the IDP Camp and feeding for the seven months.
He stated that though the displaced persons were returning home, the committee would continue to work and support the rebuilding of the community.
Ogbodo called on Nigerians, especially Urhobos, to support the Okuama people to find their feet in this critical history of their life.
“This camp was opened May 27, 2024. We have run this camp effectively for seven months, and the purpose has largely been achieved. The camp was opened with about 1,500 displaced persons, but as of today, we have about 60 persons.
“The idea when the Okuama tragic incident happened was to offer a window for the people to recover psychologically and return back to life. This has been achieved through the efforts of the state government and good-spirited individuals.
“The government is doing everything possible to provide basic amenities in the community. We are now in the post-camp era of rebuilding the infrastructure in the community through private partnership. The destroyed buildings have to be rebuilt.
“We have run this camp for seven months. I will just give a lowdown of what happened. Altogether, we received about N62 million from the start to this moment. Out of this amount, the preparation of the camp and renovation of the camp and every expenditure is within the N62 million. From this amount, we have done the feeding, medical, bringing the people to camp, provision of security, and other logistics.
“In terms of expenditure, we spent about N60 million. We have a credit balance of about N2 million. We have managed ourselves this far. The camp was not designed to stay forever. We want a situation where we end strong and happy. Today is incidentally the last day of the year, and so, going forward, we will be thinking of new things for the Okuama people and how to get them properly established,” Ogbodo recounted.
He explained that the committee will officially present their recommendations to the state government at a later date.
Also speaking, the secretary of the committee, Olorogun Emaduku, called on Deltans and Nigerians to continue to support the people of Okuama as they return back to life.
