- The Presidency has said that state of emergency is not needed to win the war against Boko Haram in the north east
- It condemned the statement attributed to Ijaw leader Edwin Clark on the declaration of state of emergency
- Femi Adesina said the declaration of state of emergency never yielded any result during the past administration
The Presidency has condemned remarks made by an elder statesman, Edwin Clark, on the need of the declaration of a state of emergency in the north east.
The special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said declaration of a state of emergency is not enough to win the war against Boko Haram terrorists in the region.
Channels Television reports that Adesina in response to the suggestion made by Clark said similar state of emergency declared by the past administration did not yield result.
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Adesina asked: “Under President (Goodluck Jonathan), state of emergency was declared in those three states, what did it achieve?”
"That is already telling you that it goes beyond a state of emergency," the presidential aide said.
He further added that rather than declare a state of emergency in then north east, the federal government has devised a different approach to the fight against insurgency.
He said: “What should happen is bringing a decisive and final end to the insurgency raving those states and by the grace of God, we are almost there.”
“The President is going to those states to visit everyone; all stakeholders are going to be invited for meetings – traditional rulers, farmers, herdsmen, community leaders.
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Adesina also denied claims that the president's visit to some of the states ravaged by clashes is not political.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari decided to embark on the visits after studying the reports of the delegations he sent to the states.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that Clark had urged the president to suspend all democratic institutions in three major states in the north east.
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The elder statesman said the president should declare a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states and allow the military take full control of these states.
He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a senior military officers to handle the states for six months to enable the country rid the region of Boko Haram element.
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Source: Naija.ng