President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday named retired Lieutenant General, Theophilus Danjuma as head of a yet-to-be inaugurated committee to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and resettle Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-east being ravaged by Boko Haram terrorists.
Business mogul and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote was also named as a member of the committee which the President said would soon be formally inaugurated.
In a related development, the Presidency denied insinuation and rumours that the Buhari administration had banned the wearing of hijab, Muslim women’s symbol of modesty, in public places.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu said the President made the announcement of the proposed rehabilitation committee for the North-east while speaking at the State House, Abuja, in response to a goodwill message from Women In Politics Forum (WIPF).
Buhari stated that all forms of assistance and aid in this respect, generated locally and from foreign countries as promised by the Group of Seven of Industrialised Countries (G7) would be channeled through the committee when inaugurated.
He said he had compiled a list of damaged infrastructure, including schools and bridges and handed it to the leaders of the G7 and the United States.
“I didn’t ask for a Kobo (in cash). It is up to them to choose what they will undertake. Already, some of them have sent teams to verify our assertions,” said the President.
He lamented the impact of the Boko Haram violence on women and children saying that they were its worst victims.
The President told the WIPF delegation: “In the North-East, what I saw for myself and on those clips is a source of concern for people with conscience.
“They are mostly women and children who are orphaned. Some of them don’t even know where they come from. This is the pathetic situation in which the country has found itself.”
He said the fight for the return of the Chibok girls was ongoing and “continues to be a most worrying issue” to his government, even as he promised that the administration would do all within its powers in making the best efforts to secure their freedom.
The President acknowledged the case made by the WIPF for better representation of women in his government and assured it that women would fare well in the composition of parastatals and their boards in the first quarter of this year.
He also defended the records of the administration in response to criticism that it was slow, arguing that steps must be taken with caution to avoid mistakes.
“People say we are slow. We are trying to change structures put in place by our predecessors in office for 16 years. If we hurry it, we will make mistakes. That will be a disaster,” the president said.
He said that the country had a budget proposal for the New Year that would be good for employment and manufacturing.
“By the end of the second quarter, the full impact of these positive measures will be felt,” he told the visiting women.
The WIPF, made up of women leaders from 26 registered political parties, led by Ebere Ifendu of the Labour Party, expressed their full support for the government’s war on corruption and insecurity.
They asked the administration to usher in laws to promote gender equity as well as action towards the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act.
The group made the record of being the first organisation to be received by the President in the New Year.
Presidency: No decision yet on banning Hijab…
Meanwhile, the Presidency has denied insinuation and rumours that the Buhari administration had banned the wearing of Hijab, Muslim women’s symbol of modesty, in public places.
Giving a clarification on the pronouncement of the President during last Wednesday’s Media Chat, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, yesterday in Abuja said the speculation was unfounded, and that the Buhari administration would always respect the rights of Muslims to protect their modesty and allow religious freedom
Shehu while admitting that the Hijab was being abused by terrorists to carry out suicide attacks on innocent people, which he said violated the teachings of Islam, said the President would not take any decision on the issue without due consultation with all the stakeholders.
“Everything will be done to balance national security requirements with the rights and obligations of citizens under their religions as protected by the constitution,” the statement said.
According to him, the increasing abuse of the Hijab by terrorists to perpetrate criminal mass murder and other atrocities is a reality, “and the government will address the security challenge in consultations with Muslim leaders with a view to finding a workable solution.”
While answering questions during the media chat, Buhari noted that even though the military had decisively overpowered Boko Haram, he however noted that the terrorists had resorted to bombing soft targets using girls wearing hijab.
To this end, he warned that the federal government might have no option than to ban the use of the hijab if the bombings continue.
When Buhari was reminded during the Presidential Media Chat on Wednesday that neighbouring countries such as Chad and Niger with more than 95 per cent Muslim populations had banned the Hijab due to similar security concerns, Buhari initially parried the question by saying that several public places in the north have hand scanners to scan people for IEDs.
But when pressed, he said: “The hijab would have to be banned if these bombings continue.”
However, the president’s position appears not to sit well with Muslims across the country necessitating the clarification issued yesterday by one of his spokespersons.
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