The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria has come up with a startling figure of $8.9bn as the totality of infrastructure loses to Boko Haram attacks in the North Eastern region of the country.
It was not clear if the UN calculations include losses incurred by telecoms companies in terms of destroyed infrastructures.
The UNDP report noted that the conflict has resulted in mass displacement of people and loss of lives, saying the crisis has also pushed already vulnerable victims to dependency on humanitarian handouts.
However, the world body hinted that it is about to invest resources in providing urgent early recovery needs in affected communities.
According to the report, “In building resilience, we direct our interventions at ensuring that elements that help build bridges between humanitarian, peace building and longer-term development efforts are in place”.
Captioned UNDP Nigeria Annual Report 2016, the agency said it is looking for a comprehensive approach to peaceful settlement of disputes at both national and sub-national levels.
In his submission, the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Edward Kallon said “UN is the largest development agency with a mandate to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and exclusion and support national efforts towards meeting the 2030 Agenda”.
