We're Not Sure of Chibok Girls' Return - VP Osinbajo Speaks on Chibok Schoolgirls' Anniversary

Posted by Odinaka on Thu 14th Apr, 2016 - tori.ng

Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo says though the current administration considers the return of Chibok schoolgirls a priority, it cannot be specific on when that will happen.

A screenshot from a new video released by Boko Haram and obtained by CNN

Speaking at a roundtable programme in Abuja on Wednesday, Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo says though the current administration considers the return of Chibok schoolgirls a priority, it cannot be specific on when that will happen, appealing to Nigerians to exercise patience with the federal government.

The vice president said President Muhammadu Buhari has not failed to challenge the military on doing everything possible to ensure that the girls are reunited with their families.

"At every security council meeting that I have attended, the president has always been concerned about Chibok girls. He thinks of how this can be done quickly.

"But it’s a very delicate issue and we cannot say we can deal with it next week. Every rescue attempt must take the safety of the girls into consideration.

"From the security reported we get, we will be able to bring back the girls but we must exercise some caution and patience and not sound as if it can be done but it’s not being done."

Osinbajo said the government was committed to catering to the needs of the poor, explaining that assistance would be rendered to the needy as soon as the 2016 budget is passed, adding that N500 billion had been budgeted for social investments programme, but said compiling the list of the beneficiaries has not been easy.

"The soft under belly of our system is that we expose the most vulnerable to the harshest conditions. That’s why the government has come up with intervention programmes including conditional cash transfer.

"That intervention must come from government funding of programmes that enable people to do something for themselves and lift them from poverty," he said.

Meanwhile, a video made available to CNN shows that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago are still alive and well.