By Reuben Abati
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan strongly condemns the bomb
blasts in Jos, Plateau state, today, describing the perpetrators of this tragic
assault on human freedom as cruel and evil.
He has also directed all relevant agencies to mobilize support and
relief efforts in aid of the victims. The President extends his heartfelt sympathies
to the affected families and persons.
President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that government
remains fully committed to winning the war against terror, and this
administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress
and civilization.
President Jonathan has also expressed Nigeria’s deepest
appreciation to the international community on the success of the recent Summit
in Paris on the security situation in Nigeria hosted by the President of
France, Francois Hollande.
He reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to the implementation of
the resolutions reached by the Summit, in addition to existing measures already
being taken by the administration to combat terrorism and ensure the safety of
lives.
President Jonathan states that the Federal Government of
Nigeria is prepared to strengthen existing mechanisms to ensure the immediate
implementation of the resolutions of The Summit, among which are:
i. That every
necessary measure should be taken to find the school girls abducted by Boko
Haram terrorists from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State
on 14th April 2014;
ii. That Nigeria
and other countries in the sub-region will continue to co-operate and
co-ordinate efforts to combat the Boko Haram menace.
iii. That the Heads
of State have agreed that each country will contribute one battalion of troops
to the international force set up to patrol the border areas, in line with the
Resolution of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. France, United States of America
and the United Kingdom will extend technical assistance to achieve this
objective;
iv. That the
countries will come together to put in place an effective border management
regime;
v. That no effort
will be spared to stop the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and
the supply of arms and equipment made available to terrorists.
President Jonathan considers these measures very useful
aspects of the concerted international effort to combat terrorism and put an
end to the Boko Haram menace. In addition, the President, in Abuja, today,
directed relevant government agencies to ensure enhanced implementation of the
following programmes in the areas affected by Boko Haram atrocities:
(i) Emergency
relief assistance: The intensification
of on-going relief assistance programmes by the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA)) in partnership with donor agencies. The programme will ensure rapid deployment of
relief assistance to the affected local government areas and communities. This will include provision of food supplies,
medical supplies, basic relief commodities, and conditional cash transfer
programmes for affected households;
(ii) Rapid needs
assessment: To support additional
intervention programmes in the region, the President has also directed that
on-going rapid needs assessment by government agencies should be accelerated to
identify affected communities and households and assess the extent of damage to
public and private infrastructure, amongst others.
(iii) Safety of
schools: President Jonathan has also reiterated Nigeria’s determination to
ensure the safety and security of schools in Borno and other parts of the
country and also provide counselling services to any affected students to
enable them return to school and continue with their academic work.
Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria will rebuild
the Chibok School and fortify security in schools. In collaboration with the UN
Secretary-General’s Envoy on Education, former British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown and the private sector, the government will launch the “Safe Schools
Initiative” which will address security issues; re-build the destroyed schools;
and provide equipment and materials.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
May 20, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment