8.4 C
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024

FG Asks Ex-President Jonathan To Stop Finger-pointing On Chibok Girls

Published:

LATEST NEWS

- Advertisement -
The Federal Government has urged former President Goodluck Jonathan to stop engaging in finger-pointing over the issue of the Chibok girls who were abducted under his watch, calling such action an unnecessary distraction from ongoing efforts to secure the release of the girls who remain in captivity, long after they were abducted.

The advice was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, following the former President’s reaction to the report by a British newspaper that the British armed forces’ offer to attempt to rescue the girls were rebuffed by then President Jonathan.

”While former President Jonathan reserves the right to defend his Administration, he should not engage in finger-pointing by saying, in a statement, that ‘some people who have obviously been playing politics with the issue of the Chibok girls will stop at nothing to further their interest’,” the Minister said.

READ ALSO  Unfreezing Of Benue State Government Accounts And The Action On Minimum Wage

He said if anyone ever played politics with the issue of Chibok girls, it was the Administration under whose watch the girls were abducted.

”After the girls were kidnapped and the Jonathan Administration did nothing for all of 15 days or make any determined efforts to rescue them thereafter, our party, the then opposition APC, told the nation several times that the whole Boko Haram crisis was allowed to escalate by the PDP-controlled Federal Government so they can use it as a political tool ahead of the 2015 elections.

”In a statement on 8 Sept. 2014, we said: ‘President Jonathan-PDP’s political manipulation of the Boko Haram has to be understood as part of its poker-like calculus for clinging on to political power ahead of the 2015 elections. The Boko Haram crisis is readily used by the PDP to rationalize the Jonathan Government’s abdication of its constitutional responsibilities, including visits and assistance to areas affected as well as effective response to abductions (e.g. the GEJ government was silent over the Chibok girls kidnaps for over 15 days)’,

READ ALSO  Re: Bauchi Spent Over N5 Billion On Foodstuffs, Refreshments In 2023, More Than The Combined Budget For Provision Of Water Facilities, Health Centres

”Two-and-a-half years after that statement, we have been vindicated by the report that claimed President Jonathan rebuffed an attempt by the British government to help rescue the girls. We hope the former President will now refrain from stoking further controversy over the lingering abduction issue and allow the government of the day to focus on its ongoing negotiations to secure the release of the Chibok girls,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

Segun Adeyemi
SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja

Hey there! Exciting news - we've deactivated our website's comment provider to focus on more interactive channels! Join the conversation on our stories through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages, and let's chat, share, and connect in the best way possible!

Join our social media

For even more exclusive content!

spot_imgspot_imgspot_img

Of The Week
CARTOON

TOP STORIES

- Advertisement -

Of The Week
CARTOON

247Ureports Protects its' news articles from plagiarism as an important part of maintaining the integrity of our website.