New President orders relocation of Military Command to Maiduguri

Newly sworn-in President, Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the Nigeria Military Command which is currently situated in Abuja be moved to Maiduguri, Borno State in order to intensify the fight against Boko Haram.

Buhari disclosed this during his address after taking the swearing-in oath as the new President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Maiduguri, the northern eastern part of the country had been under the siege of Boko Haram insurgents for years with the record of thousands of death.

The new leader also promised to rescue the 200 Chibok girls abducted by terrorists more that one year ago.

He said: “My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people.

“For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.

“The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory can not be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja.

“The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we can not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.

“This government will do all it can to rescue them alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police.

“Since then through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying force taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.”