President concerned about well-being of children in IDPs camps

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, August 11, in Abuja directed the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs to intensify efforts to re-unite families scattered in different camps for Internally Displaced Persons.

The President, who spoke after being briefed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Special Duties, Dr Jamila Shu’ara, particularly expressed concern about the well-being of children in the camps.

According to him, appropriate mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the proper upbringing of the children so that they don't grow up to become another national problem.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that officials of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led by its Permanent Secretary, John Chukwu, also briefed President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the end of the briefing, Vice President Osinbajo urged the management of the FCT to explore alternative sources to boost its revenue base and reduce its dependence on the lean resources of the Federal Government.

"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’’, he said.

He praised the Permanent Secretary and his team for ``a very comprehensive, very detailed and adequate reporting” on the activities of the FCT.

The Permanent Secretary had said all was set for the introduction of a new tax regime in the territory.

"Property tax and the tenement rate will be collected together and a sharing formula has been devised between the FCT and the area councils in order to avoid multiple taxations’’, he said.