President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday insisted his administration will negotiate with Boko Haram on the abducted Chibok girls if the government is able to establish contact with credible leadership of the terror group.
He dismissed reports that some Chibok girls have been rescued by the military.
The President added that his administration is keeping its options open on the fate of the over 200 school girls abducted by Boko Haram militants from their hostel in April 2014.
Buhari said these while responding to questions during his inaugural media chat on Wednesday.
“We are keeping our options open on the abducted school girls. Our primary objective is to ensure that the girls are complete and in sound health.
“Once we establish contact with credible leadership of Boko Haram and know where the girls are, we are ready to negotiate with the sect.
“I am working with Niger, Chad and Cameroun governments on the possible recovery of the abducted girls.
“The truth of the matter is that no Chibok girl has been recovered,” President Buhari stated.
On corruption, he urged Nigerians to be patient, saying his government is making progress in the efforts to rid the country of corruption.
He added: “We are doing well tackling corruption under the circumstances we found ourselves. Those accused of corruption are not guilty until determined otherwise by the court.
“There are terrible cases of corruption and we can only appeal to Nigerians to be patient. We cannot tell the court what to do.
“Once we go to court we should keep our mouth shut because we cannot determine for the court. We are being thorough in our investigation. But corrupt persons will be tried in court.”
“I want to be thorough in the fight against corruption. I have been a democrat since April 2002 and I don’t think I will deliberately pick anybody that will embarrass my government.”
On asset declaration, the President said he has declared his assets four times, the first of which was during the late Murtala Muhammed’s administration.
“I have declared my assets four times previously – the first under Murtala administration. The second was when I was appointed a minister, the third when I went to the War College and the fourth when I became the Head of State in 1984.
“I mention the banks where I borrowed money and the plots of lands developed. My asset declaration was deposited with the Ministry of Justice,” he said.
TheNation
END
Be the first to comment