Friday 12 September 2014 18 Zulkida 1435 INTERNATIONAL LETTERS VIDEOS PHOTOS ADVERTISE POLL NEWS INDEPTH FOR THE RECORD TOP STORIES EMAIL HOME NEWS 10TH ANNUAL TRUST DIALOGUE EKITI 2014 BUSINESS POLITICS SPORTS CITY NEWS COLUMNS MONDAY COLUMNS TUESDAY COLUMNS WEDNESDAY COLUMNS THURSDAY COLUMNS FRIDAY COLUMNS CANDID JOE EDITORIAL FEATURE OPINION ABOUT US PAPERS WEEKLY TRUST SUNDAY TRUST AMINIYA AGRICULTURE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT HEALTH HOME FRONT IT WORLD LABOUR LAW PROPERTY ISLAMIC FORUM WOMEN ENTERPRENEURS A+AA- JONATHAN: I DIDN’T TAKE SHERIFF TO CHAD Category: Lead stories Published on Friday, 12 September 2014 05:01 Written by Isiaka Wakili Hits: 5933 View Comments The Presidency said yesterday President Goodluck Jonathan did not travel to Chad with Senator Ali Modu Sheriff who is being investigated over alleged Boko Haram links. Jonathan has been criticised after photos emerged showing him seated in what appeared to be an office together with Sheriff and Chadian President Idris Deby on Monday. One of the photos also shows Sheriff among members of the presidential entourage at the Ndjamena airport, about to shake hands with Jonathan. The photos were emailed to journalists and newspaper houses, including Daily Trust, by the State House late Monday. Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati also posted the photos on Twitter. The President visited Chad for a meeting with Mr. Deby, in continuation of the Federal Government’s efforts towards forging a stronger alliance against terrorism with Nigeria’s neighbours. In a statement in Abuja yesterday, Abati said Jonathan did not travel with Sheriff and that Sheriff did not participate in any of the discussions the President had with Mr. Deby. “The former Governor’s presence in Chad was certainly not at President Jonathan’s instance and he did not participate in any of the President’s discussions with President Idriss Deby or his other engagements in Ndjamena,” Abati said. “Those who associate with Senator Sheriff know that he has longstanding interests in Chad and often spends a lot of his time there. He happened to be in Ndjamena at the time of President Jonathan’s visit and joined other Nigerian residents of the Chadian capital in coming to the airport to welcome their President. “That was the full extent of his participation in the visit and it was also at Ndjamena Airport that the pictures which formed the basis of the bogus allegation of President Jonathan hobnobbing with an ‘accused sponsor of terrorism’ were taken.” But the assertion that Sheriff met Jonathan only at the airport appeared to be faulted by one of the photos which Abati himself tweeted Monday night showing Sheriff seated with Jonathan and Deby in what appeared to be an office. Deby did not appear in any of the photos that were taken outdoors at the airport. Sheriff was accused two weeks ago, along with former Chief of Army Staff General Azubuike Ihejirika, of sponsoring the Boko Haram sect. They both denied the allegations which were made by Australian hostage negotiator Stephen Davis. Abati yesterday criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) and “other bigoted critics” who pilloried Jonathan for “hobnobbing” Sheriff because of the Chad trip. “(The) Presidency wishes to affirm, for the purpose of emphasis, that the former Borno State governor was not on President Jonathan’s delegation to Chad,” he said. “As can be easily verified from the complete list of members of the Presidential entourage to Chad which was also circulated on Sunday and never changed, Senator Sheriff’s name was not on it. The only other persons on the list were the President’s aides, security personnel and journalists. “The APC and others who rushed to condemn President Jonathan for a non-existent indiscretion would have found, if they took the least trouble to double-check, that there was absolutely no factual basis for their accusation.” The names officially given as members of the Presidential entourage for the Chad trip were of National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.), Minister of Communications Technology Mrs. Omobola Johnson, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed and the Director-General of National Space Research and Development Agency, Prof. Seidu Mohammed. Abati added that Jonathan was aware of the accusation against Sheriff and would not prejudice the work of security agencies on the matter. “President Jonathan is fully aware of the allegation made against Senator Sheriff by Stephen Davis. That allegation is already being investigated by the security agencies who will make their findings known to the public in due course,” he said. “The President assures all Nigerians that he has not willfully taken any action that could prejudice the outcome of that ongoing inquiry. “He seizes this opportunity to reassure the nation once again of his total commitment to doing all within his powers to bring all identified and verified sponsors of terrorism to justice, and ending the menace of violent extremism in the country.” blog comments powered by DISQUS back to top Facebook Disqus
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 19:22:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015