Fayose’s Comment On Chibok Girls Misleading – North-East Youths

BH-Chibok Girls

North-East youths have condemned comments credited to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state that over 300 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram sect were never abducted.

Governor Fayose made the assertion penultimate Wednesday while declaring open a two-day workshop on “Political Aspirants Capacity Enhancement” organised by Women Arise for Change Initiative in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

According to the governor, the Chibok girls’ abduction almost two years ago, which resonated globally, was stage-managed to oust former President Goodluck Jonathan from office.

In their reaction, the youths under the aegis of North-East Youth Peace and Development Empowerment Initiative, NEYPDI, expressed surprise that somebody like Fayose, who regarded himself as a democrat, could make such statement to score a cheap political point.

The NEYPDI President, Alhaji Kyari Abubakar, made the group’s position known yesterday.

He said, “We are surprised that this statement is coming from someone who regards himself as a democrat, that statement suggest that he has no sympathy for the parents of the abducted girls and the pains they are currently passing through”.

Abubakar, who advised Gov. Fayose to stop misleading Nigerians by his unsubstantiated comments, urged him to take a trip to states like Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and see the extent of damages done by Boko Haram insurgency before reeling out information to the public.

He said, “He (Fayose) should not mislead the Nigerian public about the truth. The people of North-East cannot afford to tell lies on the abduction of their daughters, that incident is always fresh in our memory.

“His utterance is short of what we expect from an elder statesman like him. We advise him to concentrate on his poor governance of Ekiti state with his flamboyant city life and wastage of peoples’ resources”.

The youth leader urged civil society organizations campaigning for the release of Chibok girls to disregard Fayose’s statement and continue with their good works.

“The North- East Youths will use this opportunity to thank civil society groups and socio-cultural organizations as well as the international bodies campaigning for the release of the Chibok girls”.

It would be recalled that Fayose at the same fora where he denounced the Chibok girls’ abduction as a ruse, also described the leading campaign group for the return of the girls – Bring Back Our Girls – as a platform by some of its leaders to seek political appointment.

Abubakar, however, urged the Inspector General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase and other relevant authorities to caution Fayose, who as a politician, has lost morality and decorum engages in destructive criticisms just to be heard.