Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has reacted to a report published by news agency, Guardian yesterday which claimed he rejected the United Kingdom’s help to rescue abducted Chibok girls.
The former president in reaction to the claim which went viral released a statement through his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, struck out the Operation Turus offer of 2014 adding that Goodluck Jonathan and his government worked hand in hand with international operatives and major powers of the world.
The former president in the statement issued by Eze noted that Goodluck Jonathan wrote to presidents including the former U.S president, Barack Obama, President Francois Hollande of France, David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the UK, and other personal contacts in Isreal and China seeking assistance in rescuing the abducted Chibok girls.
“In the course of the mission, the international team, including members from Nigeria’s neighbours of Chad, Niger and Cameroun, met regularly with our own intelligence officers to plan and conduct their operations.
“In fact, the Jonathan administration was so genuinely supportive that the foreign powers involved were granted permission to overfly our airspace, while conducting the search and rescue missions.”
The statement added: “We are however not surprised that this kind of concocted story is coming out at this point in time, as it appears that some people who have obviously been playing politics with the issue of the Chibok girls will stop at nothing to further their interest.”
