Secretary to the Borno State Government, SSG, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, has described the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Ahmed Muazu, as a pathological liar, for telling Nigerians that both the minister of State for education and the WAEC, had written to the governor not to allow exams go on in Chibok, but that the governor insisted.
Muazu was shown on live pictures in a repeat broadcast by Channels Television yesterday during an interview, during which he alleged that Governor Shettima knows there was a letter from both the WAEC and the education minister, specifically telling him that Government Secondary Chibok was not safe for the 2014 WAEC exams but he (Shettima) disregarded it.
However, speaking with Journalists in Lagos yesterday, Jidda, who showed the reporters the purported letters from both the minister and WAEC, challenged Nigerian Journalists to ask Muazu and his likes, to produce the letters they are referring to, which asked the State government not to conduct exams at Chibok.
Instead, the SSG showed the reporters the letter the Borno Government wrote to the Police, asking it to provide security on daily basis, to all exams centres, including the school in Chibok, based on the request, made by WAEC.
"I did not know Muazu a former Governor in the northeast that is suffering from this crisis, to be a pathological liar. I don't know if any of you watched the Channels Television today, (Thursday), they showed Muazu telling lies for me to react, it was on air, the world saw him misleading the world, I took the letters he is misquoting with me and the panellists all read it. There was no where any of the letters asked us not to conduct exams in Chibok. This is the letter, all of you should look at it. Muazu didn't read the letter before he went to the media to speak out of outright ignorance and falsehood. This is very unfortunate.
"In any case, the minister does not even have the locus standi to direct the governor on such matters. We provided logistics as requested by WAEC. We wrote the Police too, to provide security on daily basis, as per the request from WAEC to all the centers through out the duration of the exams as per WAEC request.
"But let me reiterate here that at no time did we receive any letter either from the police, WAEC or even the minister, advising us not to hold the exams in Chibok. At any rate, as at the time of the exams, Chibok was considered as one of the safest locations in the State.
"In actual fact the minister's letter only asked that security be provided for WAEC officials in Federal government colleges in Borno State. The letter did not request that security be provided for students, let alone Chibok students. Here is a copy of the letter, you go through it and make your own judgment.
"So, I see Muazu's claim as not only ridiculous, but one that smacks of mischief. I have known him for a long time, but I did not know he could go to this length, all in the name of politics.
"But he should know that he should not be dabbling into executive matters. He is a Chairman of a political party not the SGF, May be, we will ask our National Chairman, chief Bisi Akande, to also reply him," the SSG, added.
On the claim by Muazu that the governor was not in the country at the time Jonathan was to visit Chibok, Jidda again said, it was not true.
According to him: " I am in Lagos now for something else, but here I am talking to you. This was not what brought me, but it just happened. So that was what transpired when my governor went to London. He was in London for a follow up scheduled meeting with a company on supply of water systems for irrigation and borehole drilling, specifically he was there to meet with executives of Dando super rigs which can drill up to 1,500 metres deep very suitable for Borno and it was a meeting that needed his executive presence which in a way was also to fight insurgency through irrigation agriculture, he was not in London just to grant interviews, he was in London for a different purpose, I was there with him to sign MOU after executive decision by him. But there were enquiries here and there by the media and he took advantage of it to speak. Before Governor Shettima appeared on CNN, Minister Labaran Maku was on CNN, Doyin Okupe was on CNN, Mike Omeri was on CNN, so if appointees were right to speak on CNN, was is wrong about an elected Governor voted by millions of Borno people speaking on CNN? It doesn't matter if the Maku's spoke to CNN in Nigeria and the Governor spoke abroad, the CNN showed the contents of all the interviews on the same international platform to the same category of audience but Muazu took exception to Governor Shettima’s appearance on CNN, saying he spoke abroad whereas Muazu granted his own interview in South Africa" the SSG explained.
Reacting to question on allegations that the Governor flew out of the country to stop President Jonathan's planned visit to Chibok, the SSG said, the story wasn't true. "While we were in London for a visit of less than 48 hours as soon as we got information that the President would on his way to France, stop over in Chibok, my governor cut short his trip to return to Borno. And while we were waiting to receive the President, we got the information that the visit had been called off. They actually wrote to us giving us just a day notice which is unusual but perhaps for security reasons they planned it so and we were in Maiduguri with the Governor, he waited at the airport after his arrival from London through Abuja to Maiduguri
"In fact, I was even telling the governor before we returned to Borno that normally, if the President was going on a state visit, they give at least one week notice, to prepare. But in this one, we had less than 24 hours notice. And my governor said we just have to return irrespective of the short notice.
"So this shows you the governor is willing and ready to cooperate with the Federal government to end this insurgency. And I must say that we must stop the blame game now, and concentrate our energies on how to bring back our daughters who are still in captivity. If not for the lies being told every now and again, we never wanted to make these letters public. But we have been pushed to the wall, that is why we are doing this now," the SSG, declared.
Jidda explained that Borno State Government and it's people have been the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency but are being made to look like the accused persons. He noted that Borno State Government has spent over ten billion naira funding military activities rather than use the funds for other critical sectors. The amount he said does not include so much being spent in reconstruction of markets, community residences, schools, hospitals, shops destroyed by Boko Haram as well as funds provided as immediate palliative to victims and bereaved families. He noted that Borno Government has provided the most exceptional of supports to the military.
On allegations by the spokesman of the Defence headquarters, General Olukolade that Shettima misleads the military with some information, the SSG said "when Governor Shettima uses local sources to get information he passes on to the Military, it is expected as per procedures that the military will process the information to produce intelligence and that will require making analysis, comparing information with other sources, cross checking with sister security agencies before acting unless if someone didn't do his job well. Then, it depends on how fast you act when you are provided with information, if you are for instance given information today and it took days to process to get intelligence before acting or if you even refused to process the information at all the get intelligence that is your fault. It also depends on the technology you deploy in your surveillance and also the time it took you to do the surveillance, the period you did whether night or day and whether you used the right equipment for the day or night, so it is subject to so many procedures that can be instant or delayed depending on level of effectiveness and efficiency. The question of misleading doesn't arise at all. The defence headquarters once said in 2013 that Governor Shettima was one of those providing not just serious material support to the military but also supporting with credible information, the director of operations one General Lawrence said so and it was reported, so we shouldn't twist things now. The Governor is highly committed, the military knows that".
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