Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Tuesday expressed optimism that the remaining 219 Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity will soon be reunited with their families.
The second anniversary of the abduction of over 200 school girls by Boko Haram from their hostel in Chibok, Borno State, is Thursday, April 14, 2016.
Speaking when he paid a visit to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, headquarters in Abuja, Shettima disclosed that based on the information at his disposal, the Chibok girls are still alive.
He said, “I am an optimist, and based on information at our disposal the Chibok girls are still alive and will be united with their families soon, we are hopeful that the girls will be recovered”.
He said, “Though security falls within the area of responsibility of the federal government, the government is doing all it can not only to rescue the girls but to care for the well-being of the generality of the people. We have started rebuilding most of the communities; we are determined to rebuild all.
“The military has been doing so much in the past week which led to the influx of IDPs to our camps, presently because of the successes by the military we have over 75000 IDPs in Zifar, 28,000 in Bama, 38000 in Banki town, 27000 in Polka, right now there is an inflow of 2,300 people to Gusa today which necessitated the visit to NEMA to solicit for the usual assistance.
“As a state government we are doing our best but NEMA has been our partner in taking care of the IDPs for the past one to two years. Within the Maiduguri metropolis alone apart from the IDPs in the camps we have 1.7million people within the host communities. Even in the best of times our people were the poorest of the poor, and Boko Haram has further compounded the problem”.
“Our visit is to solicit NEMA support towards the current government; we need the support of NEMA in whatever way they can assist. Though we have reached out to so many organizations but this is where the real support lies. Borno is free now, though there are hiccups here and there but not like before again. I am not saying they are completely liberated. Peace is gradually returning to the state. By the end of the year the people will return to their homes”, Gov. Shettima enthused.
In his response, the Director General of NEMA, Mohammed Sani Sidi, assured the governor of the agency’s assistance at all times and promised to immediately move to assist in the influx of IDPs in the state.
