The permanent secretary, Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Nuvalga Dan-Habu has said a full truck of relief materials sent to Taraba state for distribution to the Internally Displaced Persons IDPs by President Muhamadu Buhari have gone missing.

The permanent secretary disclosed this while taking journalists round the venue where the relief materials were stored for safe-keeping in Jalingo, Taraba state capital.

Nuvalga said he got a call from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) North East zonal office Gombe, few weeks ago informing him that twenty (20) trucks of relief materials (Maize) were being sent by President Muhamadu Buhari for IDPs in Taraba state and the materials were on their way from Abuja to Taraba state.

He said the NEMA zonal office directed that the Taraba State Emergency Agency should keep the materials for latter distribution to the IDPs.

He stated that only nineteen (19) trucks of the materials arrived Jalingo, instead of the twenty trucks which loaded 600 bags of maize each as directed and informed by the Gombe zonal office of NEMA.

He disclosed he immediately called the zonal office and informed them but have not gotten any response till now.

“Instead of receiving 12,000 bags of Maize as we were informed by NEMA, only 11,400 reached us, a truck loaded 600 bags and it was only 19 trucks that reached to us although I informed NEMA promptly on the development”

When asked why the State refused to release the materials to the minister for women affairs, Al-Hassan Jummai for distribution, the permanent secretary said the minister did not follow the normal procedure.

“When I was contacted that materials were on the way, I briefed my boss who is the governor of Taraba state, who am answerable to, when the minister came into the state she called me, directing me to release the materials to her for onward distribution to IDPs then I told her that NEMA did not direct me to handover the materials to her and she should contact my boss to smoothen the process but she refused”

The Minister has accused Taraba State government of seizing relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Azeez