Reuters published a report on Thursday, that indicated that the president would be in the town where over 200 school girls were abducted from on April 14.
However, according to a presidency source, “Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has issued a statement that the president will be travelling to France today (Friday). That is the fact. The president is not going to Chibok. Simple as that.”
Jonathan has been widely criticized, for not visiting Chibok over a month after the girls were taken away by suspected Boko Haram militants – a saga that has now attracted world attention, thanks to a social media campaign, #BringBackOurGirls. Read More...
“If the president is going to Chibok, it will not be advertised in the media,” the source added. “He would have left by the time you hear.” The official said it would be “foolhardy” to expect the president to tell the world he was on his way to Chibok.
“That will just give Boko Haram a great opportunity to organise an embarrassment of international proportions for the president, just to prove a point. You don’t hear President Obama is going to see American troops in Afghanistan or Iraq until he has arrived and departed,” the source explained. No country will put the president in harm’s way, the official said.
Jonathan is expected to fly to France on Friday for a regional summit on security.
