President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday said the Federal Government is winning the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and took a swipe at sections of the media over the crisis.
Vanguard reports that the President made the assertion in London while speaking at the opening of the meeting of Nigeria’s Honorary International Investment Council (HIIC).
He told the gathering that the Nigerian Armed Forces and security operatives were working hard to make sure the sect do not seize anymore town in the troubled north-eastern part of the country.
“We are improving on security. For about a week now there have been no reports of Boko Haram seizing more territories. Rather, we are steadily pushing them back. The impression being created by sections of the media that the situation is worsening is not true. I can assure you that it will never get worse,” Jonathan said.
Mr. President promised the gathering that the country’s security operatives were making huge success in recovering areas recently taken by Boko Haram, and used the medium to solicit for greater support from the National Assembly for the Federal Government’s efforts to curb terrorism, insurgency and insecurity in the country.
Jonathan explained to members of the council headed by Baroness Lynda Chalker that he decided to offere himself as a candidate in Nigeria’s next presidential elections because he was convinced that with four more years in office, he will be able to further consolidate the positive national reforms initiated by his administration and take them to a point of irreversibility for the good of all Nigerians.
“As you already know, I have indicated my willingness to carry on for another four years if I am given the opportunity so that we can carry forward some of the reforms we have been talking about,” he said.
The President listed the expansion of transportation infrastructure, improvement of local content in Nigeria’s oil industry, more inclusive economic growth, job creation and national security which are on the agenda of the meeting as some of the sections in which his administration still hoped to achieve further improvements.
Below is an except from President Jonathan’s speech:
“We cannot move the economy forward without good infrastructure. We have been working very hard in that area. We have improved our road network significantly. In the next three to four years, we should be able to resurface almost all federal roads in the country and begin new ones. We are improving our airport terminals and aviation security. Reforms are also ongoing at our ports to drastically reduce the time required for import clearance formalities. In the rail sector, we may require private sector funds to quicken the pace of development. Our goal is to link all state capitals by rail. It may not be an objective that can be achieved by a single administration, but we want to lay a solid foundation that others can build on. We are also promoting the increase of local content in our oil industry, because that is the only way in which our people will benefit more from the industry and begin to see themselves as true stakeholders who need to protect and help in the development of our oil and gas resources,” Jonathan said.
the council and Baroness Chalker for their valued advice to the Nigerian government over the years.
Meanwhile, the meeting after the President’s speech went into a closed door session to receive briefings, updates and presentations from relevant ministers and council members.
However, the President’s statements underscored the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency that has been capturing towns and slaughtering innocent citizens in the north-eastern part of the country.
The situation became very worrisome at a time when towns were being captured by the sect members almost on a daily bases, but for a short period that no town has fallen into the hands of the extremist, the President in his relief had to included it in his speech in London.
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