The All Progressives Congress (APC) has congratulated President
Goodluck Jonathan for finally finding the courage to visit Maiduguri
to pep up the gallant troops battling the Boko Haram insurgency, but
said the President has more trips to make to Chibok, Buni Yadi and
Potiskum, among others.
In a statement issued in Makurdi on Friday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the President should
follow up his visit to the epi-centre of the Boko Haram battle with
visits to the parents of the 219 missing Chibok girls as well as the
families of the boys who were killed at the Federal Government College
in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, last year.
It said it is only by doing so that the President can begin to refute
the published report that his visit to Maiduguri on Thursday was
politically motivated, aimed at laying the foundation for his
impending electioneering campaign swing across the north, especially
to Maiduguri on Jan. 21st.
”We have always said the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces should never be afraid to visit anywhere in the country.
We have always said the President should not just be the
Commander-in-Chief but also the Consoler-in-Chief. We are glad that
the President has finally agreed with us.
”But it is necessary to remind the President that he must not play
politics with human lives, and that he must stop putting Jonathan
first, Jonathan second and Jonathan third, at the expense of the
nation,” APC said.
The party said now that the President has woken up from his slumber,
he should also address the issue of the low morale of the troops and
their lack of the necessary fighting equipment, if they are to
effectively battle the terrorists who have killed and maimed thousands
of innocent citizens.
”It is instructive that a few hours after President Jonathan visited
Maiduguri, the global news channel CNN aired an interview with some
Nigerian soldiers who complained of very low morale among the rank and
file, lack of fighting equipment and very poor welfare. Another blamed
the terrible situation being faced by the troops on massive
corruption.
”This does no credit to an Administration that has allocated billions
of naira to the defence and security sector, billions that apparently
did not percolate to those at the front line of the battle. It calls
to question the usage to which the government has put the huge funds
allocated to the sector, including the 1-billion-dollar loan that was
recently approved by the National Assembly,” it said.
APC called on the National Assembly to probe how the billions of naira
that have been appropriated for defence and security have been spent.
