…as Anglican clerics, Obasanjo Visit

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday confirmed that fraudsters have been demanding money from the Federal Government in the name of facilitating the return of the abducted schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

The President made the remark when he hosted a delegation from the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion in Abuja, led by the Primate, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh.

Noting that that while the rescue and safe return of the remaining Chibok girls remains a top priority of his administration, he would not fall for the antics of fraudsters who have been asking the Federal Government for money to negotiate the release of the girls.

A statement from his Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as saying that his administration would continue to insist on a thorough authentication of the identities and bona fides of any persons or groups claiming to have custody of the girls before entering into negotiations with them.

The President, however, assured the Anglican Bishops of his steadfast commitment to the rescue of the Chibok Girls, saying that their safe return will be one of his greatest fulfillments in office as President.

Buhari also assured the clerics that the Federal Government would give maximum attention to the clean-up of Ogoniland, which was launched yesterday, (Thursday).

He said: “We inherited the United Nations Environmental Project report from the previous administration.

“We decided it needed urgent attention, in spite of the economic crunch because of our concern for the welfare and environmental comfort of the people of Ogoniland,” he said.

The meeting the clerics held with Buhari was closely followed by a similar one with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his office at the Presidential Villa. Otunba Tunde Fasawe accompanied Obasanjo to the Villa.

The meeting lasted for about 30 minutes behind closed doors. When Obasanjo came out from the meeting about 1.15p.m, he declined to make any comments.

But Okoh, who granted a brief interview to State House correspondents, said the church’s leaders were concerned over the issues confronting the country, hence the visit.

According to him, “we told him (Buhari) many things but part of it is that we are all looking for solutions to issues of the herdsmen, vandalism and others. This is because the people are asking us questions and we want to have explanations for the people we lead.”

Okoh said the response of the President to their concerns were “satisfactory, very favourable and offered hope ‎to the people.”

“He gave us detailed explanations of what he is doing to ensure that these things are solved. So, we have hope; we have a message for our people,” Okoh said.

Asked to rate the President’s performance so far in the last one year, the cleric said: “We believe that so far it’s been okay because of the difficulties of the time. Between now and the next one year, we are looking forward to something more direct now; something that will get to the people easily.

“So far, for the first year he was trying to clear the table, prepare the place, make the work move forward and we look forward to a better 2016-2017 budget year. So, the next one year we know will be better. It’s okay for now but it could be better.”