APC Says Jonathan’s Trip To Maiduguri Incomplete

 
The All Progres­sives Congress (APC) has con­gratulated Presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan on 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 yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mo­hammed, the party said the president should follow up his visit to the theatre 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.

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 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 sectors, billions that apparently did not reach 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.