APC disowns Boko-Haram in today’s press conference

Boko-Haram: Finally, the truth is out!
Being text of a Press Conference addressed by the National
Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
Good afternoon Gentlemen of the press, and thank you for
honouring my invitation to this press conference.
Before I address you today, kindly permit me to replay the full
interview of Dr. Stephen Davis, the Australian negotiator who was
appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to help secure the
release of the over 200 girls who were abducted by Boko Haram on
April 15th.
The interview was aired on Arise Television on Thursday Aug. 28th.
INTERLUDE: PLAY VIDEO
Thank you for your patience, gentlemen.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) like many well-meaning
Nigerians had resolved long ago that the issue of the Boko Haram
insurgency should not be politicized. In view of this, the APC
expressed its willingness and readiness to cooperate with the
Federal Government in neutralizing the insurgency. Regrettably
however, instead of accepting this offer of cooperation, the PDP-
Federal Government has consistently pointed accusing fingers at
our Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the sponsor of
Boko Haram. They have called us all sorts of derogatory names,
but failed to provide any shred of evidence to support their claim.
It has been very clear to us that the vehemence and persistence of
this accusation, the deliberate distortion of statements made by our
leaders to paint us as Boko Haram sponsors and the way the PDP-
led Federal Government has gone to hire foreign PR firms, at a
huge cost to taxpayers, as well as foreign and local hack writers to
push this narrative, they were struggling hard to cover up
something. We waited patiently knowing that the truth will one day
surface.
In a rare moment of truth, a top official of the Jonathan
Administration, no less a personality than the former National
Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi, situated the
Boko Haram problem within the PDP. Shortly thereafter he was
fired, and he later died in controversial circumstances. Still we
waited.
They distorted and misrepresented the statements made by our
leader, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to try to convince the world that
he was indeed the main sponsor of Boko Haram. They continued to
echo the same slander about Gen. Buhari that was started by
Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati in 2011, and for which he
and his cohorts eventually begged to settle out of court and to
apologize to the General. Still we waited.
When their attempt to link Gen. Buhari with Boko Haram failed, as
his popularity among ordinary Nigerians continued to soar, he was
suddenly attacked by suicide bombers. Those who planned the
attack believed this as the final solution to what they perceived as
the threat he represents to the realization of their ambition. By the
grace of God, he survived. We do not claim to know those who
attacked him, but we do know those who provided the atmosphere
for that attack to take place. Still we waited.
When the government declared a state of emergency in three
worst-hit states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in 2013, thousands of
troops were deployed to the three states. But the unusual
happened. The number of attacks simply skyrocketed. It is common
knowledge that in any territory that has been placed under a state
of emergency, the military takes charge of security, erecting
checkpoints as part of efforts to keep a tab on security. Such was
the situation in Borno in April 2014, when over 200 girls were
abducted and driven away in many trucks.
Soldiers posted to a nearby checkpoint were said to have
withdrawn shortly before the attack. Who ordered their withdrawal?
Some of the trucks in which the girls were being carted away broke
down, yet no one challenged them. Despite this bizarre occurrence,
they refused to accept responsibility and continued to cast
aspersion on our Party, the APC, as the sponsor of Boko Haram.
Still we waited.
Boko Haram routinely enriched their arsenal with tanks, Armoured
Personnel Carriers, guns, trucks and other military equipment which
they seized from the Army. From the videos they release from time
to time, one could see Boko Haram insurgents driving around
unchallenged in convoys of up to 60 vehicles made-up of tanks and
other military vehicles they seized from our military, in a territory
that is under a state of emergency. What is happening? No one
could fathom it. Still we waited.
A man known to all as the kingpin of Boko Haram, a man who
helped to arm them so he could win elections and decimate his
opponents, was moving around with the best security ever. He is a
known ally of the President and he is not known to be under any
immunity. Yet he was never arrested or even questioned. Still we
waited.
In line with a Yoruba adage that says when a drum starts sounding
too hard, it is about to burst, the PDP and the Presidency ratcheted
up their attacks on our party, labelling us as Boko Haram sponsors.
They hired a foreign firm, Levick, for US$1.2 million in taxpayers’
money, as well as a number of out-of-luck hack writers and pseudo
analysts, one of them from Russia, to help push the narrative. Still
we waited.
Then their drum exploded!
Dr. Stephen Davis, a man hired by the President Jonathan-led
Federal Government to negotiate with Boko Haram for the release
of the Chibok girls decided to speak out, believing the best way to
tackle the insurgency is to expose the sponsors. And who are they?
On international television last Thursday, and as you have just seen
and heard, he named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and
a former Army Chief, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, as the sponsors of
Boko Haram.
Prodded by Sahara Reporters in a subsequent interview on whether
Gen. Buhari and Malam Nasir el-Rufai were sponsors, he said the
Boko Haram commanders who gave him the names of their
sponsors did not mention their names. The die is cast. The truth is
finally out! Boko Haram sponsors have been exposed. They are
within the ruling PDP. They are friends of President Jonathan.