President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan strongly condemns the bomb blasts in Jos, Plateau state, today,
describing the perpetrators of this tragic assault on human freedom as cruel
and evil. He has also directed all relevant
agencies to mobilize support and relief efforts in aid of the victims. The
President extends his heartfelt sympathies to the affected families and
persons.
President Jonathan assures
all Nigerians that government remains fully committed to winning the war
against terror, and this administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of
enemies of human progress and civilization.
President Jonathan has
also expressed Nigeria’s deepest appreciation to the international community on
the success of the recent Summit in Paris on the security situation in Nigeria
hosted by the President of France, Francois Hollande.
He reaffirms Nigeria’s
commitment to the implementation of the resolutions reached by the Summit, in
addition to existing measures already being taken by the administration to
combat terrorism and ensure the safety of lives.
President Jonathan states
that the Federal Government of Nigeria is prepared to strengthen existing
mechanisms to ensure the immediate implementation of the resolutions of The
Summit, among which are:
i. That every necessary measure should be
taken to find the school girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from
Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on 14th April 2014;
ii. That Nigeria and other countries in the
sub-region will continue to co-operate and co-ordinate efforts to combat the
Boko Haram menace.
iii. That the Heads of State have agreed that
each country will contribute one battalion of troops to the international force
set up to patrol the border areas, in line with the Resolution of the Lake Chad
Basin Commission. France, United States of America and the United Kingdom will
extend technical assistance to achieve this objective;
iv. That the countries will come together to
put in place an effective border management regime;
v. That no effort will be spared to stop the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons and the supply of arms and
equipment made available to terrorists.
President Jonathan
considers these measures very useful aspects of the concerted international
effort to combat terrorism and put an end to the Boko Haram menace. In
addition, the President, in Abuja, today, directed relevant government agencies
to ensure enhanced implementation of the following programmes in the areas
affected by Boko Haram atrocities:
(i) Emergency relief assistance: The intensification of on-going relief
assistance programmes by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)) in
partnership with donor agencies. The
programme will ensure rapid deployment of relief assistance to the affected
local government areas and communities.
This will include provision of food supplies, medical supplies, basic
relief commodities, and conditional cash transfer programmes for affected households;
(ii) Rapid needs assessment: To support additional intervention programmes
in the region, the President has also directed that on-going rapid needs
assessment by government agencies should be accelerated to identify affected
communities and households and assess the extent of damage to public and
private infrastructure, amongst others.
(iii) Safety of schools: President Jonathan has
also reiterated Nigeria’s determination to ensure the safety and security of
schools in Borno and other parts of the country and also provide counselling
services to any affected students to enable them return to school and continue
with their academic work.
Furthermore, the Federal
Government of Nigeria will rebuild the Chibok School and fortify security in
schools. In collaboration with the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Education,
former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the private sector, the
government will launch the “Safe Schools Initiative” which will address
security issues; re-build the destroyed schools; and provide equipment and
materials.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the
President
(Media and Publicity)
May 20, 2014
