Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has disclosed that it was former President Goodluck Jonathan that expelled Boko Haram out of 14 Local Government Areas of Borno State and not President Muhammadu Buhari.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had recently claimed that ‘Nigeria would have been an Islamic state without President Muhammadu Buhari.

Clark said he was certain that what gave Mohammed the impetus to make the statement was because Nigerians had not dispelled this fraudulent and false claim that it was Buhari’s government that expelled the Boko Haram terrorist 14 LGAs of Borno State.

He said “Mohammed has again, decided to garb himself with the propagandist toga, which he used to wear as the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), forgetting that he is today, the Information Minister of the country, a position which he should use to build bridges between the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria, and across all divides in the country.

“It is pertinent to reiterate that Boko Haram was expelled from the fourteen Local Government Areas of Borno State by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government through the engagement of combined forces who were assisted by hired mercenaries. Prior to the period the sect was expelled, they were occupying fourteen Local Government Areas in the State.

“As a matter of fact, it was as a result of this that the elections could not be conducted at the initial scheduled date, and had to be postponed. It is, therefore, not true that it was President Mohammadu Buhari that expelled Boko Haram out of 14 Local Government Areas of Borno State,” he said.

Clark said it must be remembered that some Nigerians believed that the Boko Haram sect would be used to harass and torment Jonathan, getting him out of office.

He added that when it was suggested then that there should be a meeting to see the possibility of having negotiations between the Nigerian state and Boko Haram, the sect chose Buhari as their Chief Negotiator, even though a few days after the choice, Buhari rejected the sect’s choice of him.

The former Federal Commissioner for Information said there were no accusations the APC did not level against Jonathan then, including criticising him for killing innocent Northerners through the sponsor of Boko Haram.

According to him, Meanwhile all these were fabricated lies from the pit of hell, against an innocent man whose only offence is that he as the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Force of a country, where some people think they alone have the exclusive right to be in that position.

Clark pointed out that Jonathan knew that people were out to get at him, in any way, by all means, hence his open confession that Boko Haram had infiltrated his government.

He said, “in contrast, however, those who never wanted him in office and those who never liked him, were basking in joy because their handiwork was succeeding and actually nurtured the group to be more daring in any way possible including people who made statements that fanned the embers of their activities, like Alhaji Lai Mohammed. But like the saying goes what goes around, comes around, they never knew they were raising what is like the proverbial Frankenstein monster. What they created became uncontrollable and returned to haunt them.”

Courtesy (excluding headline) THISDAY

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