‘TAN’s aid to internally-displaced persons beyond support for Jonathan’

IN demonstration of its resolve to make TAN not to be seen as only a political tool, the group said it has initiated humanitarian projects through visits to various Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the northeastern parts of the country which has been under the control of the Boko Haram sect.

  Though TAN’s Director of Communication and Strategy, Udenta O. Udenta, said the group would go beyond support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan and its programmes will outlive any sitting president, stressed that the group’s support for the President was not based on his political affiliation with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but because of the numerous achievements, which his administration had given to Nigeria through his initiated  transformation agenda.

  But TAN’s Director of Operations, Mr. Ben Chucks Nwosu, who led the ambassadors on a humanitarian trip to the IDPs, said that the team distributed goods ranging from foodstuff, clothes, mattresses and other valuable life-saving items to the displaced persons in Gombe and Zamfara states during their visits in December and early January.

  Nwosu, who linked the humanitarian works of TAN to its support for President Jonathan, said that the ambassadors have no affiliation with any political party, adding that the group would continue to work with any president who has good programmes like President Jonathan beyond the 2015 elections, since according to him, the membership of TAN cuts across political parties.

  The director, who narrated their feelings at the IDP camps, regretted that some citizens in the country were left languishing in conditions, which were not of their own makings, adding that hunger was major problem that the displaced persons were facing at the various camps they visited.

  He said: “A political party is a mere platform and we are going to continue this task for the good of the country. Even after his Presidency, if there is another president who is doing well, it will be our considered opinion to also render the same support. I don’t want us to be seen as a creation of PDP or being set up by the President as being alleged by some individuals. The founder of TAN ran for an election under the Labour Party (LP) and we saw his limitations.

“When we concluded the tour and TAN rally at the zones, we commenced the second leg of our project which we started with humanitarian works in the North-East Zone that has the IDPs.”

     At the IDP camps, we saw that hunger has no colour or religion. In places like Gombe, we went to Gudu Hausawa where upon the request of their leaders, we supplied to them rice, beans, Indomie, detergents and clothes which they said they needed most.”