President Goodluck Jonathan and the 36 state governors of the Federation have pressed the military to rescue the abducted school girls as soon as possible.
Speaking at the end of a multi-stakeholder meeting involving the country’s political, religious and defence leaders, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi made the position of the executives known.
Fayemi said, “We recognised that the issue of the moment is the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. We resolved that the girls should be retrieved and protected by the military.
“The military assured us that they are doing everything to achieve this.”
“The meeting stressed the importance of rising above partisanship when dealing with security issues. We stressed the importance of security agencies to be scrupulously professional and non partisan. The meeting commended the security agencies and urged them to share data amongst themselves.
“We also agreed that we need a holistic response to terrorism. Military action is sine qua non but there has to be an anti-poverty strategy. The meeting also stressed the need to address the capacity of media practitioners to make them more patriotic in their reporting.”
in attendance at the meeting were: Governors Willie Obiano (Anambra); Theodore Orji (Abia); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Martins Elechi (Ebonyi); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto); Ramalan Yero (Kaduna ); Garba Umar (Taraba); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa); Seidu Dakingari (Kebbi); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo); Lyel Imoke (Cross River); Isa Yuguda (Bauchi); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina); Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe)and Sullivan Chime (Enugu).
Deputy Governors of Jigawa, Imo, Oyo, Rivers, Kano, Ogun, Plateau, Edo and Yobe were represented their governors.
Governor Fashola did not send a representative to the meeting.
Ministers in attendance at the meeting were Abba Moro, Interior; Gen. Aliyu Gusau, Defence; Abduljelil Adesiyan, Police Affairs; Viola Onwuliri, Foreign Affairs; Akinwumi Adesina, Agriculture and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.
The security chiefs in attendance were the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Inspector-General of Police, the Comptrollers General of Customs and Immigration, Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Commandant-General of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor , President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Sultan of Sokoto, and President of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs also attended the meeting.
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