According to the Nigerian Presidency, the last administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan got into negotiations with fake leaders of the Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram sect, as it sought to secure the freedomof the abducted Chibok girls.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, stated this on a programme aired on Radio Continental 102.3 FM, excerpts of which were posted on his Facebook page.

Adesina said that Jonathan’s government was defrauded of millions of dollars before it came to the realization that it was dealing with phony Boko Haram leaders,

He said it was in knowledge of this that the present administration is taking cautious steps to engage the real leaders of the sect to facilitate the release of the Chibok girls.

“We need to know a little bit of what happened behind the scenes between the last government and some people masquerading as the leadership of Boko Haram, who wanted to get the Chibok girls released. They actually turned it into a franchise, it became a commercial thing and they got money, possibly in millions of dollars, only for the government to discover it had been deceived.”

“They kept saying they could get the girls released; they could interface with Boko Haram and they went laughing all the way to the bank with all that money, and nothing happened. So you should understand why this government is being careful and the President has said the genuineness of the leadership of Boko Haram must be determined before any negotiation takes place.”

Furthermore, the presidential spokesperson said the President has nothing but ‘respect and regard’ for the Igbos in Nigeria, contrary to the widespread propaganda that he loathes the tribe.

“When the President ran for political office in 2003, who was his running mate? Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. And in 2007, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke. If he hated Igbo, would he run with them?

“That shows you the respect and the regard he has for the Igbo, it was political reality that compelled him to come to the South-West in 2011 and in 2015. Let me tell you a story. There is a prominent Igbo family in this country, if I mention the names, you would know them, they are very prominent in the society.

“They told me a story that in the 70s, President Buhari was Minister of Petroleum, the family wanted to join the petroleum industry and then they made a bid. By then, there were not too many Nigerians playing in that industry, and there was a lot of scepticism from those around the then Lt.-Col. Buhari, who was oil minister.

“They all said they don’t believe that the company as represented by that family had the capacity to play in the industry. This family told me that eventually, they got to Lt.-Col. Buhari; he listened to them, and asked them; ‘Are you sure you have the capacity to do this?’ And they told him, ‘we can do it’.

“Then he removed his military cap, banged it on the table and told them, ‘it is done.’ And he instructed that they give them that opportunity they wanted in the oil industry and today that family is so big and it never forgets that the then Col. Buhari as oil minister gave them the break they needed. They told me that story about three weeks ago.

“The next day, when I saw the President, I told him the story. He laughed and then went on to tell me that when people say he is against the Igbo, it baffles him, that really he never knew that family, he just trusted the assurance they gave him that they could play in the oil industry.”

Kolapo Olapoju