Peter Obi urges urgent upgrades at Sokoto IDP camp

Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has urged the government to urgently improve conditions at the Ramin Kura internally displaced persons camp in Sokoto State. Obi made the call after visiting the camp in Sokoto North Local Government Area on Monday, September 29, during a two-day visit to the state. In a post on X on Wednesday, he said the camp housed more than 1,000 displaced people.

According to Obi, many residents live in makeshift shelters and thatched rooms, with some rooms accommodating as many as 10 people. He also cited inadequate toilet facilities and the absence of a primary healthcare centre and basic school for children. He called on the government and relevant agencies to respond immediately to the camp’s needs while also addressing the security challenges that displaced residents from their communities.

Obi said temporary accommodation should be made more comfortable as efforts continued to create conditions that would enable displaced Nigerians to return to their ancestral homes. “I have always insisted that as long as even one Nigerian lives in an IDP camp, we are all internally displaced,” he said. The former presidential candidate said the visit was his 12th to an IDP camp in Nigeria and pledged to continue supporting displaced people.

He also encouraged political office holders to spend their holidays in the country to gain a better understanding of the difficulties faced by vulnerable citizens. Obi attributed the conditions in the camps to what he described as a failure to prioritise critical development needs and renewed his call for a “New Nigeria.”