The Presidency on Monday said contrary to
claims by some individuals and groups, President
Muhammdu Buhari has treated all Nigerians
without bias for ethnicity or religion in his
appointments and policies since he assumed
office on May 29, 2015.
It said claims that the present administration
was targeting Christians and members of the
opposition were without foundation.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on
Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a
statement while reacting to The London
Telegraph’s article “Children Face Death by
Starvation in Northern Nigeria” published on
Saturday.
Shehu said the article repeated a claim from an
earlier piece “Nigeria Using UK Aid to Persecute
President’s Political Foes” published on April 12,
indicating that Nigeria was diverting United
Kingdom’s aid monies away from defeating the
Islamist terror group Boko Haram towards those
the newspaper identifies as political opponents
of the administration.
He said the statement was incorrect and
unhelpful.
The presidential spokesman said to suggest
Buhari’s government as deepening Muslim-
Christian division was not only untrue, but played
into the hands of Boko Haram who wished to
divide Nigerians along religious lines.
He said, “As for claims that the administration is
targeting Christians and the opposition, these are
without foundation.
“Since assuming office, President Buhari has
treated all Nigerians without bias for ethnicity or
religion – as the composition of his cabinet and
the policies and programmes of his
administration demonstrate.
“To suggest his government as deepening
Muslim-Christian division is not only untrue, but
plays into the hands of Boko Haram who wish to
divide Nigerians along religious lines.
“Fighting this group is key priority of President
Buhari’s administration. Indeed the international
community has widely acknowledged his
determination to defeat terrorism in Nigeria and
the entire Lake Chad Basin.
“There is nothing to gain by attempting to mould
public opinion against these facts. Therefore we
invite The Telegraph to visit Nigeria: to witness
first hand not only the challenges we face, but
the administration’s determination to confront
them.”
Shehu noted that while the claims in both articles
were attributed to an unnamed source in the
United States and “Western officials”, yet the
first article drew the condemnation of the US
Embassy in Abuja as having drawn conclusions
directly opposite to the position of the US
government when it was first published.
He explained that the UK government does not
give development aid to the Nigerian government
for operations against Boko Haram.
He added that the Federal Government is not in
position to divert aid monies meant for refugees.
He also noted that the blame for the plight of
refugees lies with members of Boko Haram,
saying they are its cause, not the Nigerian
government.
He added, “To state the facts: the UK
government does not give development aid to
the Nigerian administration for use in military
operations against Boko Haram. Where British
military support – such as intelligence – is
provided, it is precisely and only, given for
operations directly against Boko Haram.
“Similarly, the Nigerian Government is in no
position to divert aid monies used for emergency
relief for refugees or IDP camps for any other
purpose, as these are dispensed directly by DFID,
USAID, the United Nations, the International Red
Cross, Doctors without Borders and many other
organisations – with which we enjoy excellent
relations.
“The humanitarian situation in these camps is
real. The administration remains deeply
concerned about the medical, health and
nutrition challenges and we are doing everything
with the limited resources we have at our
disposal to improve the situation.”

what do you expect the idiot to say

UK ti get alaye