The embattled Senate Deputy President, Ike Ekweremadu, has taken a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari, while expressing worries over the increased attacks by members of the terrorists group, Boko Haram.
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| Ike Ekweremadu |
The Punch; Ekweremadu: B’Haram attacks worsening under Buhari, Daily Sun; Justice ministry to looters: We’r ready to nail you, Vanguard; Alleged N1.35bn Fraud: Lamido, Two sons remanded in prison, The Guardian; Five former governors in EFCC’s ‘emergency’ dock, as well as The Nation; Buhari rejects N400m cars, makes the front pages of the national dailies for Friday, July 10, 2015.
THE PUNCH reports that Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy Senate president, on Thursday, July 9, said the Boko Haram insurgency had worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, noting that the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan had almost ended the insurgents and its operations in the North-East. He expressed fear that the extent Boko Haram is heading right now, the sect might carry out attacks in Abuja and the Southern part of the country soon. He said the Buhari administration should, as a matter of urgency, deal with this security challenge no matter what it would cost.
The deputy Senate president, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, said he had been worried about the sect’s renewed attacks. He said: “I am worried about the resurgence of Boko Haram activities in Nigeria. Shortly before the inauguration of the present government, the country had almost rolled back Boko Haram and its activities in every part of Nigeria – from Adamawa to Borno to Yobe.”
Ekweremadu, who revealed that he was concerned about the people in the North-East, therefore call on Nigeria’s neighbouring countries and the international community to help end Boko Haram scourge, reiterating that there is no way a nation can achieve progress without peace. He said he was hoping that by now lawmakers would be brainstorming on how to rebuild the Northern region, but regrettably the actions of terrorists seem to have resurfaced, not only in Borno, but in Plateau, Adamawa and Kaduna states as well.
Reacting to Ekweremadu’s statement, Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, said the deputy Senate president is entitled to his opinion. He said the fact that he made such statement did not make it right.
