President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday directed the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs to intensify efforts to re-unite families whose members are currently scattered in different camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

President Buhari, who expressed particular concern about the well-being of children in the camps, said that appropriate mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the proper up-bringing of the children so that they don’t grow up to become another national problem.

The president spoke in Abuja after receiving a briefing from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Special Duties, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara and called for a follow-up on the supervision and audit of constituency projects.

Officials of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (MFCT) also briefed President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa yesterday.

At the end of the briefing, Vice President Osinbajo urged the MFCT to explore alternative sources to boost its revenue base and reduce its dependence on the currently lean resources of the Federal Government for the development and maintenance of infrastructure in Abuja.

“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," the Vice President told the Permanent Secretary of the MFCT, Mr. John Chukwu and other officials of the Ministry.

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

The Permanent Secretary said that all was now set for the introduction of a new tax regime in the Federal Capital Territory.

“The property tax and the tenement rate will be collected together and a sharing formula has been devised between the Ministry and the council areas in order to avoid multiple taxation.”

•Photo shows President Buhari.

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