The presidency says the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has limited the Boko Haram insurgency in the country to the Northeast alone.
Doyin Okupe, President Jonathan’s senior aide on public affairs said this on Thursday, while reacting to the comments made by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, during a lecture marking the 50th birthday of former Bayelsa Governor, Timpriye Sylva.
Okupe stated that his boss did not lie to Nigerians concerning the insurgency, stressing that terrorism was a global phenomenon which had only recently plagued the country.
“At its peak, it ravaged some 12 States in the North, including Abuja. Today, because of the courage, resilience and capability of our armed forces and security agencies, we have pushed them to the fringes of the North Eastern parts of the country”, he said.
Admitting that there were still obvious challenges to which the government was giving the best attention and considerations possible, Okupe disclosed that recently, foreign allies, including Britain, USA, France, Israel, China and Australia had arrived Nigeria and were cooperating with the military to resolve, especially the issue of the kidnap of the Chibok girls.
Continuing he said, “These are the best global players and they have been with us for about six weeks. If the releasing of the girls was a tea-party, definitely, it should have been over by now.
“We have said it before and we will say it again, yes, we know where the girls are but our approach at releasing them must be carefully weighed against their overall safety.
“It is a matter of national disgrace and shame that highly placed, and highly net worth individuals in the country will continue to politicise the nation’s misfortunes and challenges not minding the deleterious and untoward demoralising effects this attitude have on our military, especially, the widows and innocent children of our military heroes who die daily on the fields, defending their country”.
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