Governors elected on the platform of the All
Progressives Congress have accused President
Goodluck Jonathan of abandoning security of the
country for his second term ambition.
The APC governors, who are under the aegis of the
Progressive Governors Forum, made the accusation on
Tuesday just as the Federal Government said the
Armed Forces were recruiting more people to ensure
effective protection of the North- East against the
activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
But the APC governors, in a statement by the Director-
General of the PGF, Mallam Salihu Lukman, said the
Monday attacks on military formations and parts of
Maiduguri, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents
were pointers that Jonathan had no security agenda.
The governors lamented that the security situation in
several parts of the country had continued to
deteriorate despite the extension of the State of
Emergency in some of the North- East states and the
trillions of naira spent on security by the Jonathan
administration.
The statement reads, “As it were, notwithstanding the
fact that nearly one-third of this year’s Federal
Government budget was devoted to defence and
security, few Nigerians actually feel safe.
“The most recent attacks were particularly telling as
they show that President Jonathan has no security
agenda and is only focused on retaining power beyond
2015.
“The result of this criminal negligence is the unabated
slaughter of lives. Clearly the security structures set up
in the region have been overwhelmed.”
The PGF therefore called on the President to reassess
his security strategy and focus more on the critical
issues of the day.
The governors said that the strategies and tactics
currently adopted by Jonathan and security agencies
drafted to the North-East had been ineffectual .
While commiserating with the government and the
people of Borno State, they also called on the Federal
Government to immediately overhaul the tactics and
rules of engagement of the security agencies deployed
in Borno and other states in the North-East.
They said that the President, who also doubles as the
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, needed to
ensure coherence in the management of the various
aspects of security interventions in the zone .
They said his obsession with 2015 was a dangerous
diversion at a time when real courage and
statesmanship were needed in the country.
The governors, however, said they would continue to
offer support to their colleague in Borno State,
Governor Kashim Shettima, and provide necessary
humanitarian assistance “in these extremely difficult
times.”
Earlier, the APC had in a statement by its Interim
National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said
it was shocked and saddened by the enormity of the
attacks on Maiduguri.
It said nothing in the world could justify the death and
collateral damage inflicted on civilians by the insurgents.
The party, however, called for a renewed strategy to
combat the sect. Such a strategy, it advised, must place
a great emphasis on the gathering of intelligence so
that such attacks could be nipped in the bud.
The party also called for a probe into how hundreds of
terrorists could so easily infiltrate military facilities,
which are believed to be highly safe.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, had
during a press briefing on the 2014 Armed Forces
Remembrance Day Celebration, in Abuja, said more
persons were being recruited into the Armed Forces in a
bid to contain the activities of terrorists.
“The Armed Forces are engaged in additional
recruitment and training, because overall, the North-
East is more than several countries in West Africa put
together in terms of geographical size,” the minister
added.
Maku also disclosed that the Defence Headquarters
had sent a high-powered team to ascertain the extent
of the Monday morning attack on the military
formations in Maiduguri.
The minister, who oversees the Defence Ministry, said
Nigeria was facing a stubborn international enemy
whose “members operate without uniforms.”
He said, “Our soldiers and other security agencies are
taking more risks than before… Yesterday(Monday), as
you saw in the news this (Tuesday) morning, we had a
very painful incident, where the insurgents that we have
been battling for some time, managed a very daring
attack on our Air Force Base in Maiduguri.
“Let me say that the Defence Headquarters has already
briefed the media about the incident. I must say that
what it tells us is that we are facing a very stubborn
international enemy that is really committed to
destabilising the peace of the country but I can say with
pride that the incident was not only repelled but that
those who participated in it faced the fire of special
forces.
“As we speak to you, the Armed Forces are in Maiduguri
with their strong team to give us a full report of what
happened.
“The point must be made that Nigeria is facing an
international enemy that has a long line of supply and
that we are not taking it lightly.
“Insurgencies of this type are not easy to overcome. For
example, in places like Pakistan, Algeria and Yemen
there are still cases of penetration even in nearly 10
years of terrorist activities.
“If places like Iraq that have been battling with
insurgency for over 10 years still have lingering
moments, I must say confidently that our Armed Forces
are doing everything possible not only to deal
decisively with these incidents but ensuring that the
North-East and the boundaries of Nigeria were
secured.”
He said that the Federal Government was looking at the
international operations of Boko Haram and the
network being employed by it in carrying out attacks on
the country.
He stressed that while the attacks on Maiduguri were
painful, they had alerted the authorities to the need for
further steps to secure the country.
He said it was wrong for the Boko Haram insurgency in
the North- East to be classified as a civil war by the
International Criminal Court.
The minister argued that the classification of terrorist
activities all over the world must be the same.
Maku said, “It is amazing that terrorist attack on a
country is described as a civil war. When terrorists
attack the United States, it is an attack on a peaceful
country. When terrorists attack Afghanistan, it is not a
civil war. What is happening in Nigeria is a war by
terrorists against all Nigerians, especially those who live
in the Boko Haram’s operational areas.
“It is not a civil war; it is a group of terrorists, with
international network, deploying that network to attack
innocent people. It’s not a civil war.
“We are fighting a group of people who carry out
random attacks on our people. They attack Christians
and Moslems. What we are facing is a war in which a
network of terrorists have used a part of our country to
attack our citizens.
“The people of Borno State are Nigerians and you can’t
define this as a civil war. There would be full response
from Nigeria. Terror in Nigeria cannot be different from
terror as defined elsewhere.”
According to the minister, the classification of Boko
Haram as an international terrorist organisation by the
US was a further confirmation of Nigeria’s position.
He stated that the Federal Government had not
contacted the US or any other country for assistance in
the war against terrorists because the Armed Forces
had the training, the capacity, the competence and the
efficiency to tackle them.
In Maiduguri, the National Emergency Management
Agency said over 300 persons were internally displaced
following the on Monday.
The Northeastern Public Relations Officer of the agency,
AbdulKadir Ibrahim, in an e-mail to journalists, said the
300 persons had been moved to the 33 Artillery
Regiment of the Nigerian Army , one of the military
bases attacked by the sect .
Ibrahim said, “An assessment has been conducted and
initial relief materials like beddings, blankets and
mosquito nets have been given to the victims in the 33
artillery barracks where we have 300 internally-
displaced persons whose homes were affected during
the attacks.”
He however said the casualty figure could not be given
by the agency because it was a security issue.
“We do not give casualty figures because of the inherent
confusion and security nature of the conflict, the
military should be in a better position to provide that,”
the NEMA spokesman added.
Maku however said the cooperation of the foreign
nations was needed by Nigeria because the crisis had
assumed an international dimension.

Source: www.punchng.com/news/president-focused-on-2015-not-security-apc-govs/

God help nigeria oooo. Hey first to comment!!!!!!!!

APC....

Hear who's talking.






Go and die

These APC governors are just a bunch of noise making misfits. What solution have they proffered to end the book haram crisis. They were the same ones who did not back the State of Emergency called for by the President. Under President Obasanjo when we had state of emergency in Plateau, we saw the full weight of what a state of emergency can be. If you now ask for a repeat scenario, all you will get is more and more noise from them. I am getting tired of their noise and since they are not giving us a solution or possible solutions, they should hold their horses and allow the president to govern as he sees fit. Bunch of windbags.