FG Insincere In Fighting Boko Haram, Search For Chibok Girls, Says APC

Source: thewillnigeria.com

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, (THEWILL) â€' All Progressives Congress (APC) Tuesday accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its avowed fight against Boko Haram and the search for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

Rising from the 10th meeting of the Interim National Executive Committee of the party, APC said, in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, that the Federal Government has been very insincere in its persistent call for national unity to combat the Boko Haram sect.

'This has been manifest, perhaps more than at any other time, since the tragic abduction of over 200 school girls from Chibok over a month ago,' it added, stressing that 'Up to this moment, the Federal Government has yet to reach out to the APC, the main opposition party, on how to forge a common front against this despicable terror group, despite our incessant efforts to reach out to the government.'

According to the party which also agreed to hold its National Convention in Abuja on June 13 and 14, 'Nigerians will recall our various interventions in which we stated clearly that only a non-partisan approach could help extricate Nigeria from the death grip of Boko Haram; how we have consistently called on the government to organise a national stakeholders' summit to put all hands on deck and how we have made a number of recommendations which we feel can help pep up the fight against the terror group.'

APC lamented that the only response it has received so far is that in which the government said it had implemented or it is implementing those recommendations anyway, saying this clearly amounts to an unnecessary hubris and a cold shoulder. 'The Federal Government that has been calling on the international community for assistance must know that charity begins at home, and that for all hands to be on deck, the APC cannot be ignored.

'A party that controls 16 out of 36 states and has over 40 Senators and over 150 members in the House of Representatives is too big to be ignored at a critical time like this in the life of our nation. A party that controls the three hardest-hit states by the Boko Haram insurgency cannot be excluded from any serious effort to tackle the insurgency,' the communiqué signed by APC Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said.

According to APC, 'Interestingly, the Federal Government that has been clamouring for support in the anti-terrorism fight did not deem it fit to even reach out to the APC ahead of its announcement of its extension of the state of emergency in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

'We therefore call on the government to stop politicising the fight against Boko Haram and to show sincerity of purpose in its call for a national front to confront the sect. This government must jettison its jaundiced, ridiculous and clearly-partisan view that portrays our party as the sponsor of Boko Haram. This is mere politicking and should stop.

'It is noteworthy that a few minutes after the first Nyanya bombing, the PDP issued a statement blaming the APC for the blast. Now that the masterminds of the blast have been arrested and none of them has been proven to have any link with our party, the PDP has yet to admit its faux pas and apologise not just to our party but to the entire nation.'

The communiqué stated that APC remains committed to a non-partisan approach to end the scourge of Boko Haram, despite what it described as the Federal Government's partisanship.