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Dapchi Abduction: Parents Back Negotiation Option
Parents of abducted Dapchi school girls in Yobe State, yesterday lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for considering the option of negotiation against use of military force to rescue the girls.
The parents, who spoke with newsmen in Damaturu said the option gave them hope for safe return of the girls.
Chairman, Parents Association of the Abducted Schoolgirls, Alhaji Bashir Manzo said “this is a welcome development and we are happy about it.
“Use of force, as the only option, will result in death of many of the girls while negotiation provides for their safe return.”
The chairman, who encouraged government to go for dialogue to hasten return of the girls, said “the fact that the insurgents provide room for negotiation gives us hope for safe return of our daughters.”
Secretary Dapchi Youth Development Association, Alhaji Baba Shehu, also described the negotiation option as a healthy development.
“Government should deploy resources at its disposal to take this advantage and ensure safe return of the girls” he said.
A father of eight of the students, Alhaji Ali Mohammed, described negotiation as the only safe option for the insurgents to release the girls, saying he was happy “government has considered this option of negotiation”.
A mother, Maryam Alkali, said every mother would appreciate the option that will bring the girls back home safely.
“Let me state without fear of contradiction that every mother of the abducted girls will now have a strong hope for reunion with these girls” she said.
Another parent, Malam Mustapha Imam, said “If government had resorted to military option alone, it may jeopardize the safety of the girls, so the option of negotiation is a welcome development.”
He, however, called on government to take strong precautionary measures in safeguarding every school in the country, especially those in the Northeast.
“Government has to invest heavily on security, especially in equipment, manpower and intelligence gathering for improved security,” Imam said.
The President, had last Monday, while receiving then US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said the Federal Government had considered the option of negotiation to rescue the abducted students.
Buhari told Tillerson that negotiations were underway, in concert with international organisations to secure the release of hundreds of school girls captured by Boko Haram terrorists.
On 19 February, 110 school girls were captured by Boko Haram in Dapchi, Yobe State. In April 2014, more than 200 girls were stolen from a school in Chibok, Borno State.
Buhari said Nigeria preferred to have the school girls back alive, and that is why it had chosen negotiation, rather than military option.
“We are trying to be careful. It is better to get our daughters back alive,” the President said.
He thanked America for assistance rendered in the fight against insurgency, noting that Nigerian forces are good, “but need assistance in the areas of training and equipment.”
Buhari promised that his administration would continue to do its best to secure the country, adding that he would be in Yobe State, from where Dapchi school girls were abducted, later this week “as part of my condolence and sympathy visits to areas where we have had unfortunate events.”
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.