Bow Your Head in Shame - FG Slams PDP Over Comments Made About 82 Released Chibok Girls

The Peoples Democratic Party has been blasted by the Federal Government over its recent comment about released Chibok girls.

The Federal Government has lambasted comments credited to the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party on the recently released 82 Chibok schoolgirls.

According to the FG, the PDP lacks the moral right to comment on the issue.

The PDP faction had on Sunday criticised the Federal Government for freeing some Boko Haram suspects in exchange for the Chibok girls. Speaking on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement that the PDP, under whose watch the girls were kidnapped, should bow its head in shame.

He said it was clear that the kind of disdain for human life which the PDP exhibited in its incautious statement is the same reason the girls were kidnapped in the first instance, and for which then PDP-controlled Federal Government took what seemed an eternity before even acknowledging the abduction – thus losing critical time for their rescue.

The minister said, ”Since the PDP failed – as it did in everything – to rescue even one of the Chibok girls, the party should hold its peace while this administration continues to seek the release of all the abducted girls, using every means at its disposal, in addition to working assiduously to end all Boko Haram hostilities.”

Mohammed said prisoner exchange was a common practice across the world including in the United States and Israel.

He added, “In his inaugural address, President Muhammadu Buhari said the administration cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls. He also said this government will do all it can to rescue them alive.

‘If that includes swapping some Boko Haram elements for the girls, so what? Will the PDP rather have the girls stay in perpetual captivity, just to prove a ludicrous point? Didn’t superpower United States engage in negotiations with the Taliban that led to the exchange of five Taliban fighters for US Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl in 2014? Didn’t Israel release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in 2011?

”A lot of factors come into play when a nation has to decide whether or not to engage in prisoner/hostage swap. None, however, trounces the sanctity attached to human life and the consideration for the pains of the loved ones of those involved.”

The minister said from the ill-advised statement, it is clear that the PDP, whose incompetence and cluelessness precipitated the Chibok girls” crisis in the first instance, is not wishing and praying for it to end with the safe return of the abducted girls.

Whistle-blower policy: Looters now burying stolen funds in backyards, deep forests, cemeteries - Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government has hailed its whistle-blower policy, which has led to the recovery of looted funds in many currencies that may otherwise not have been discovered, describing it as an effective tool of fighting corruption in Nigeria.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the policy has also shown the depth of support among Nigerians for the fight against corruption.

 
He therefore thanked Nigerians for the enthusiasm and commitment that they have shown in helping the government to tackle the hydra-headed monster of corruption through the useful leads they have been providing to appropriate government agencies.

''Since we launched the whistle-blower policy, we have received immeasurable support from Nigerians. Yes, there is monetary reward for any information that leads to recovery of looted funds, but from what we have seen, most of the Nigerians who have come forward with useful leads were driven by patriotism rather than reward.

''Nigerians, fired by a fervid resolve to help banish corruption from their country, have daily inundated the offices of the appropriate government agencies with valuable information. We have been told how looters have resorted to burying stolen funds in their backyards, in deep forests and even in burial grounds.

''Thanks to whistle-blowers, it is now clear that a rapacious few have pillaged the nation's wealth through a vicious orgy of corrupt practices. Thanks to the useful information provided by Nigerians, it is now obvious that more funds are in the possession of looters than are available to government at all levels to meets its obligations, including paying workers' salaries, providing social amenities, upgrading infrastructure and ensuring the security of lives and property.

''As the looters continue to run helter-skelter, many of them are even abandoning their booty at unusual places, including airports. We want to assure Nigerians that we will not abandon this policy for whatever reason. Instead, we will continue to rejig it to make it more effective as a tool for fighting corruption,'' the Minister said.

He said the recovered looted funds are safe, adding that as soon as the necessary reconciliation process and the litigation in some of the cases are concluded, the government will give a full account of the funds to Nigerians.

Alhaji Mohammed re-assured Nigerians who have useful information on looted funds that the government will protect their identities and also ensure that they get the stipulated reward for their effort.