Why thee much awaited official visit by the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to Chibok Local Government Area of Borno state slated for today (Friday) has be postponed indefinitely has not been officially made public bu the sources said, the postponement of the visit became necessary due to some important engagement which is not unconnected to the security reasons.
Another source said, the reason for postponement of the visiit is not unconnected with Jonathan’s planned visit to Paris in France for security meeting slated for today (Friday)”.
However, Special adviser to the president Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati insisted that the Presidency did not at any time announce a trip to Chibok today and asks the public to ignore the rumour.
He said its wrong and malicious to allege that a non-existent trip has been cancelled.
Every trip by the President is usually pre-announced. The Presidency did not at any time announce a trip to Chibok today. Ignore rumours.
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) May 16, 2014
It is therefore wrong and malicious to allege that a non-existent trip has been cancelled.
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) May 16, 2014
Boko Haram terrorists invaded Chibok had on April 14th this year abducted over 200 schoolgirls writing their final year S.S.C.E examinations, out of which 54 escaped, a situation that has attracted global outrage with some world leading countries like US ,UK, France, Israel,China and Canada offering help to Nigeria on how best safely rescue the girls from the terrorists.
It was reported that as soon as 6 o’clock in the morning, the major streets and roads within Maiduguri metropolis, particularly the road from the airport to Government House were heavily manned by security operatives, especially policemen to ensure successful welcoming/ hosting of the president, but when the news of the cancelled visit filtered into the town, most of the fierce looking policemen deployed on the streets withdrew back to their stations.
Governor Kashim Shettima who had to flew from his trip abroad in a chattered flight and landed at the Maiduguri International Airport at about 9am, declined to comment on the President’s proposed visit as he drove directly to the Government House with some government officials including the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda.
A prominent leader from Chibok who pleaded anonymity told our Correspondent on phone confirmed the cancellation of the visit. He said ” Yes we received an information from the state government that Mr. President is no longer visiting Chibok, until further notice, already we have informed our people including the parents of the abducted schoolgirls who had earlier gathered waiting for Mr. President to disperse and go back to their respective houses, as I am talking to you now I am also on my way back to Maiduguri”. He stated
Instead of visiting Chibok, Jonathan is now due to head direct to a security summit in Paris on Saturday to discuss the Boko Haram threat to regional stability.
The cancellation has again prompted immediate criticism on social networks and others who claim the president has shown indifference to the mass abduction. "If, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he is afraid to visit Chibok because of security fears, he is simply telling the hapless people in the northeast that he cannot protect them and they should resign themselves to their fate," said Debo Adeniran, of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders pressure group.
In the United States, which has sent drones and surveillance aircraft, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said Nigeria had been "tragically and unacceptably slow" to tackle the crisis. "I have called on President (Goodluck) Jonathan to demonstrate the leadership his nation is demanding," Democratic senator Robert Menendez said.
A state of emergency was imposed in three northeastern states worst affected by the violence on May 14 last year. Special powers were extended for a further six months in November and president Jonathan has requested the extension on Tuesday, calling the security situation in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa "daunting."
Nigeria House of Representatives has voted unanimously for an extension, while senators are expected to vote Tuesday. A two-thirds majority is required from both chambers.
The governor of Yobe has come out against any extension and his counterparts in Borno and Adamawa are likely to follow suit. All three are members of the main opposition party.
Initial gains from the state of emergency in forcing Boko Haram out of urban centres appeared to have been lost, with questions raised about the military's tactics and ability to curb the threat.
Disgruntled troops on Tuesday fired shots into the air when the local commander paid a visit to the state capital of Borno, Maiduguri to sympathies with them after a Boko Haram ambush that killed some of their comrades. Six soldiers, including one officer, were killed as they returned from patrol duties in Chibok, the defence ministry said, adding that the commander was not injured by the firing.
Jonathan has ruled out a prisoner swap with the extremists after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau mooted the possibility in a video released on Monday showing the kidnapped schoolgirls. But the government said it remained open to wider talks on ending the insurgency.
Relatives of the missing girls have called for their unconditional release. "For me, I want these girls released without any negotiations," said Ayuba Chibok, whose niece is among the hostages. "Even if Boko Haram wants to request something from the government, let them request something else," he said
"Let (Shekau) release these girls unconditionally."
With US, British, French and Israeli teams on the ground helping the Nigerians, the battle against Boko Haram spread to Sudan, where one of the alleged masterminds of an April 14 bombing in Abuja was arrested. Army deserter Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, who served in a Nigerian intelligence unit, was held on suspicion of involvement in the car bomb attack on a bus station that killed at least 75 as he tried to obtain a Turkish visa in central Khartoum.
Ogwuche arrived in Khartoum late last year to study Arabic at the International University of Africa but visited Nigeria earlier this year, a source familiar with the case said.
Jonathan is under pressure to crush the rebels, who have killed thousands in their campaign for an Islamist state, and to free the girls, whose abduction has sparked global outrage.
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