By Augustine Osayande
Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar has welcomed the news of the release of 82 Chibok Girls with great joy and gladness.
The former Vice President in a statement he personally signed in Yola, Adamawa State on Sunday describes the girls’ freedom from Boko Haram captivity after three years since their abduction, as a development that shows what Nigeria can achieve as a nation when we unite as one people around a common cause. “Nigerians stood together as a people and purposed to free these girls,” he says. “Despite the many setbacks, hurdles and periods of discouragement, the government, civil society and the citizens all stood together, and today we have this victory that we are enjoying as one nation” Atiku said
He commended the efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which, despite the costly lethargy of the previous administration in rescuing the girls, went at it with renewed vigour. “Thanks to the hard work of our state security services, the military and the leadership of President Buhari, the government now has tangible results to show for all the persistence” he said.
Atiku also commends the Bring Back Our Girls group, which kept hope alive for the parents and the nation, refusing to let us forget the missing Chibok girls. “However, I encourage that we must all not rest on our oars until the remaining girls still in captivity are released, so that we can finally have a closure on this sad chapter of our country’s history” Atiku added.
The girls on arrival were taken to the Department of State Services (DSS) clinic for check-up and were later led to meet with Abba Kyari, chief of staff to the president.
They arrived in Abuja earlier in the day from Maiduguri in military choppers.
