THE parents of abducted Chibok schoolgirls have condemned the All Progressives Congress for using the abduction of their daughters as campaign tool to clinch power but never did enough to free them from Boko Haram’s captivity.

Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri on Monday, spokesman for parents of the abducted schoolgirls, Mr Ayuba Alamson, said it was unfortunate that the APC benefitted from their travails, but had not done enough to dry their tears.

He said it was a well known fact that the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the schoolgirls on April 14, 2014 from their school in Chibok Secondary School was the major reason many Nigerians opted for change and chose the APC over the Peoples Democratic Party.

He, however, attributed the inability to rescue the girls at the early stage of their abduction to the unserious attitude of the then administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, which never believed the kidnap story until two weeks after the girls’ abduction.

He did not spare the APC leadership in Borno State as well, saying they also failed to act promptly to the security alert in the area before the abduction.

Alamson said, “APC has used the abduction of our girls to earn power in an easy way in 2015 but is yet to justify the promises they made while seeking power then. I also supported the efforts of those parents in voting for the APC, but till today, the efforts are in vain.

“Our girls were in the hands of the APC government at the state level, while the PDP was ruling at the federal level.

“Apart from the 112 of the girls still missing, the Chibok Community and environs have been under constant Boko Haram attacks even till today. It is important to note that when some schoolchildren were kidnapped in Lagos, we all saw how the state government swung into action to rescue them. But in the case of Chibok, it was a different ball game.”

He said, “We have followed a lot of channels to see that the 112 girls are released. Federal government has tried but the pass mark is below average.” – Punch

– Apr. 16, 2019 @ 10:19 GMT |