Borno State to spend N150m to rehabilitate 53 escapee girls, parents

Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, yesterday announced that the state government would be spending N150million for the rehabilitation of the 53 chibok girls that escaped from Boko Haram captivity as well as their parents whose source of livelihood was affected by the abduction, Sahara Reporters reports.
The Governor made this announcement when he received the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the missing girls in his office yesterday. Gov Shettima decried the notion by some people that the missing Chibok girls was a scam or that it was a staged attempt by the state government to stop emergency rule extension in the state. Continue...


He called out former Minister of Aviation, Kema Chikwe for casting doubts on the authenticity of the abducted girls. He said the missing Malaysian plane was a good example of what is happening now, saying that with all the theories mounting up of the possibility that the passengers are dead, rescue efforts with massive investment is still going on in the search of the missing plane.
"Now, while that is going on, here is Nigeria, there was a report that over 200 human creatures, young Nigerian girls about completing their secondary school education, were attacked in their school at night and whisked away like slaves in ancient years. And some Nigerians, one of them a former Minister and one time member of the Federal Executive Council which is the highest decision making body of this country, worst of all, a woman and a mother, came out to cast doubt over the abduction of these girls. That woman completely disregarded the sensitivity of that issue, the pains of the agonizing parents and our pains as a Government, to whom, the parents of these girls, cry out in desperation, unimaginable confusion and anguish. Every other unreasonable Nigerian that came to adopt that view, only anchored the unfortunate position that was first expressed by Mrs Kema Chikwe.” he said
The Governor also revealed that since the beginning of this year, N1billion has been spent on the rehabilitation of people and places that have experienced attacks from Boko Haram.
"In this year alone, we had spent close to one billion naira on victims. In Gwoza, we spent two hundred million naira for reconstruction of destroyed houses, markets, places of worship and to provide cash to victims so they could have something to rely on in the immediate term to feed themselves and families or start small businesses in the interim. In Bama, we spent three hundred million for same purpose; in Konduga we spent two hundred million naira" he said
Full text of his address to the Presidential Panel below
Schoolgirls Abduction: What Governor Shettima told Presidential fact finding committee today (Tuesday) in Maidugur