Gowon meets Buhari over Chibok girls, militancy

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By; SUNDAY ODE, Abuja.
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd), Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting held behind closed doors, Gowon said he was at the Presidential Villa to discuss the state of the nation with the President.
The former leader said he discussed specifically the issues of the abducted Chibok girls, militancy in the Niger Delta and the poor state of the nation’s economy with President Buhari.
He said: “We discussed the general affairs of the country, the problems of the country, his fight against corruption, and all the efforts that he is making to deal with it and of course, the impatience of the public to see results of the fight which have yet to be found, since people have not been prosecuted yet, that would soon begin,”
Gowon expressed support for the ongoing battle against corruption and efforts to rescue the Chibok school girls from Boko Haram captivity.
“These are some of the issues we talked about, one appreciates his efforts and determination to rid the country of corruption, which is one of the problems that have held the country down and have created serious set backs to the country both nationally and internationally and, then of course, the current situation about the Chibok girls and the efforts the government is making to rescue them,” the retired General stated.
He also stated that government needed to get credible information about the whereabouts of the girls and also those that would assist the government achieve that,
He expressed the belief that government was determined to ensure that a number of the girls were brought back home safely as soon as possible.
“To achieve that, certain credibility must be established of our sources of information on their location, but as at yet, no one knows where these girls are, and all the information that you have been getting, I don’t know their sources, but all efforts at engaging the international media and sources are necessary so that this matter can be resolved once and for all,” he said.
Gowon blamed the fall in global oil price and the activities of Niger Delta militants for the ongoing hardship in the country, expressing hope that those issues would be resolved soon.
“Again we talked generally on the country and efforts the government is making to give the people what they want to see that they have money, but please remember, we used to sell petroleum at $150 per barrel, but what is it today? It’s merely around $30 per barrel and the amount of crude oil we used to produce was over 2 million, it has gone down to about one million because of the problem we have been having with people blowing pipelines in the Niger Delta area.
“So we have problem and there isn’t enough money to be able to go round. So very soon, with the efforts the government is making to get things back to normal, making contacts with the Avengers and other aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta’ who are creating havoc there, we hope that all will be well soon,” Gowon said.

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