VP insists Governors approved $1bn to fight Boko Haram

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has insisted on the governments position that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF)

The decision to approve the withdrawal was disclosed by Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, after a National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Osinbajo on December 14, 2017.

Since the announcement, the decision has been criticised with the most notable objection coming from Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, saying the Federal Government made the decision and not the NGF.

He further accused the Federal Government of trying to use the money to fund President Muhammadu Buhari's 2019 reelection campaign.

While speaking at the opening of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/Secretaries to State Governments' retreat on Tuesday, December 19, Osinbajo dismissed Fayose's claim and said that state governors resolved to approve the fund for national security

He said, "It was after a national security summit of the National Economic Council that Governors at their forum decided to approve some money for national security."

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.

After a massive military operation resulted in the displacement of the group from its primary base in the infamous Sambisa Forest, it has resorted to suicide bomb attacks on soft targets and carried out daring attacks on military bases, with hundreds of captives still unaccounted for.