Ezekwesili reminds President of Chibok girls promise

Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has reminded President Muhammadu Buhari about the promise he made to ensure the return of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls before he was elected president in 2015.

Boko Haram terrorists had abducted 276 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok, Borno state on April 14, 2014, during the tenure of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who was heavily criticised for his handling of the crisis.

President Buhari, then a candidate, made security a focal point of his electoral campaign, making several promises to secure the release of all abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

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Since his inauguration, the president's administration has secured the release of 103 of the girls in a prisoner swap with Boko Haram, and a further four have been found, leaving 112 still in captivity after 57 had escaped in the earlier days of the abduction.

Despite the return of some of the girls, the president has been criticised for his handling of the parents of the girls especially those whose daughters are yet to return.

Dr Ezekwesili, a co-convener of Bring Back Our Girls advocacy group that has campaigned for their return for years, slammed the president for becoming less vocal on the issue after he was elected.

She took to her Twitter account on Friday, April 13, 2018, to remind the president that he hasn't fully delivered on his promise.

She posted, "Does President Muhammadu Buhari, who used every opportunity he had before February 2015 to talk about injustice of non-rescue of our Chibok Girls, know that in just one day it would be four years of their captivity? Does he remember his pledge to rescue our girls?"

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To commemorate four years of the Chibok abduction on Saturday, April 14, parents of the girls will assemble on the premises of Government Secondary School, Chibok and have interdenominational prayers. BBOG will also hold a second annual lecture in commemoration of their abduction.