The newspapers for Monday, February 26 focus on a brewing crisis in the APC and federal government’s confirmation that 110 schoolgirls of Government Girls Technical School Dapchi are unaccounted for.
A crisis is brewing between the presidency and governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the fate of the party’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.
The Guardian reports that there are indications that there may be calls for the sacking of the Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC), even before the expiration of its tenure in April at the NEC meeting of the party.
Guardian newspaper for Monday, February 26, photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
The move has been seen in certain quarters as the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in the NWC, and some state governors at the heart of the crises are not ready to take it lying down.
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The newspaper states that the recent decision by Buhari to appoint Bola Tinubu, to reconcile warring members of the party has been seen as a vote of no confidence in the Oyegun led NWC.
But governors of the party have passed a vote of confidence in the chairman and his team.
Meanwhile, the federal government has disclosed that 110 schoolgirls of Government Girls Technical School Dapchi, were unaccounted for in the Boko Haram attack on the school recently.
Vanguard reports that the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, told journalist on Sunday, February 25, that security agencies were synergizing to ensure the rescue of every student abducted by the insurgents.
Vanguard newspaper for Monday, February 26, photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
He said: “No stone will be left unturned in our determination to rescue these girls” the minister assured.
“Government will remain focused and resolute in the fight against insurgency to rescue the students and every Nigerian in their custody.”
This Day reports that the minister of interior, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), who was in the company of the Lai Mohammed said the federal government team embarked on the trip in order to get the facts right so that the approach to the solution would be correct.
This Day newspaper for Monday, February 26, photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
“We must get back the girls and also ensure that this does not happen again,” he said.
The Punch reports that the Yobe state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, faulted the military and the defence headquarters for withdrawing troops from Dapchi town shortly before the attack and abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi.
The Punch newspaper for Monday, February 26, photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
“If the soldiers had been on the ground, the attack on the town and subsequent abduction of the schoolgirls would not have happened.
“This is not the first time the absence of soldiers has exposed our people to attack by Boko Haram. In 2013, a secondary school in Buni-Yadi was attacked a week after the military removed soldiers guarding the town. So, let me be quoted anywhere, the military must take the blame for the attack on Dapchi,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has deployed more assets in a day and night search for the 110 schoolgirls abducted last week by suspected Boko Haram men.
The Nation reports that a statement by NAF urged Nigerians, including the rural dwellers who might have information that could lead to the location of the girls, to bring such information to the attention of the military authorities.
The Nation newspaper for Monday, February 26, photo credit: snapshot from NAIJ.com
“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed additional air assets, including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, to the Northeast in a renewed effort at locating the missing Dapchi girls,” spokesperson for the Air Force said in a statement.
“Before now, following confirmation of reports that some of the girls were yet to be accounted for, the NAF had deployed some ISR platforms and helicopters to search for and possibly locate the missing girls as well as the rogue Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs).
“Although these search operations were conducted in a covert manner, for obvious reasons, the efforts did not yield the desired results.
“Accordingly, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, directed the immediate deployment of additional air assets and NAF personnel to the Northeast with the sole mission of conducting day and night searches for the missing girls.
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Source: Naija.ng