Buhari’s govt deserves credit for prompt response to students’ abduction, other challenges – Presidency

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, said on Monday the current administration deserves credit for constantly responding promptly to students abduction and other security challenges in the country.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari would do everything possible to ensure the safe return of the abducted 373 students of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangabe, Bauchi State, without compromising the country’s sovereignty.

Adesina, who stated these when he featured in Channels Television’s programme, “Politics Today,” dismissed reports that the Federal Government has paid ransom to secure the release of the abducted students.

He insisted that the federal government would disclose to Nigerians if ransom has been paid to facilitate the release of the students.

The presidential aide said: “It is easy to say negotiations and dialogue should not be done but to the President, each situation is taken according to its peculiarities.

“If ransom was paid, the government will tell the country and if ransom was not paid, it will say so.

“If there was payment, it will be disclosed and if there was payment, it will not be my duty because I speak for the President. The President will not be the one to pay the ransom, the agencies that will pay the ransom have spokesmen who can confirm or deny whether ransoms were paid.

READ ALSO: Buhari excited at return of abducted Kagara schoolchildren

“I can assure you that the abducted students will be released at the shortest possible time. That is why the government is working; federal government, state government, inter-agency collaboration, everything is being done to bring those schoolgirls back.

“When the abductions of the students happened, how do they end? We had Dapchi, they were recovered. We had Kankara, they were recovered. We had Kagara, they were recovered. We are working on Jangebe in Zamfara now. You look at the end results.

“This is a vast country with security challenges. There could be glitches, there could be shortcomings in one area of the other but how do those things end. So, give some credit to this government.

“There is nothing wrong about being reactive, you can’t be proactive about everything. In security, there will be things you will also react to. Yes, you can be proactive about certain things but the truth is that you cannot prevent everything.

“No single country in the world has been able to prevent security challenges but the speed with which you react and the efficiency with which you react will matter.”

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