Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has assured parents of Chibok girls, Miss Leah Sharibu and other abductees that Federal Government had not forgotten about them.
Farouq said this in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Nneka Anibeze on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the 7th Anniversary of the abduction of Chibok girls.
“Let me assure the parents of the Chibok girls, Sharibu and other abductees, that this government has not forgot about them.
“We have heard your demands and the responsible ministries and agencies will respond on behalf of the government.
“All our children deserve quality formal education. Our country needs them to be educated for our development. No one should have to choose between school and safety.
“We will employ all our efforts to give every Nigerian child the opportunity to rise out of poverty and attain their ambitions through education,” Farouq said.
The minister said, President Muhammadu Buhari came into power with a public mandate to control the insurgency in the Northeast that led to the Chibok girls’ abduction, and to fight the corruption that hampered the rescue efforts.
She explained that the Federal Government had achieved a lot, adding that significant work remained for all levels of government.
“Half of the Chibok girls have been rescued and reunited with their families and have resumed their education. We will continue working to bring back those left behind.
“Local, state and Federal Governments readiness to respond to attacks on schools has greatly improved. We are working to prevent such attacks from occurring in the first place,” she said.
The minister said that she would not like to speak openly about the security strategies and measures.
“But I can assure you that President Buhari’s government holds the safety and security of Nigerians as its sacred duty.
“We are fighting a regional tide of criminality and violent extremism in partnership with others,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 300 female students of Government Secondary in Chibok were abducted by members of Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.
Eighty two of the girls were reported to have been released in May 2017.
One of the girls was rescued in January 2018. An unknown additional number of girls escaped in January 2021, but over 112 were believed to still remain in captivity. (NAN)