A former Governor of Edo State,
Adams Oshiomhole, has reacted to the comment by World Bank president, Jim Yong
Kim, that President Muhammadu Buhari sought the institution’s support for
Northern states.
Governor of Borno State, Kashim
Shettima, had listed Oshiomhole as one of those at the parley.
On Sunday, the former governor
confirmed that he was present at the meeting between Buhari and Kim Jim in
2015.
Oshiomhole lamented that the
president’s statement was twisted and given sectional meaning, contrary to the
true intentions and context of the discussion.
In a statement, Oshiomhole said
“It is true that I was present with Mr. President during the interaction with
the World Bank president”.
“The context under which Mr.
President made the statement that is now being twisted was against the backdrop
of the devastation of the North-east zone, and the need to solicit for
assistance from the World Bank and any other foreign agency to help address the
issue.
“It was a patriotic request borne
out of a burning desire to find immediate and permanent solution to the crises
in the North-east zone.
“This idea of trying to read
sectional meaning to this genuine request for international assistance to help
cushion the challenges faced as a consequence of the Boko Haram menace, is
utterly unfortunate.
“We should know when to play
politics and when not to play politics especially with serious developmental
challenges such as the unpalatable outcome of Boko Haram activities.
“We were quite happy that Mr.
President was able to articulate his request for assistance from the World Bank
amidst a host of other challenges confronting us as a nation.
“We needed to prioritize the challenges
and the unwholesome plight of the Internally Displaced Persons was critical at
that material time.
“Any reasonable president could
not have asked for anything beyond that humanitarian crisis that was giving us
international embarrassment.
“President Buhari remains a
statesman who is altruistic, genuine and patriotic in the discharge of his
statutory responsibilities,” he added.
“We should see the country as one
and work towards achieving her lofty objectives of being a true giant in the
continent of Africa.”
Meanwhile, former vice president
Atiku Abubakar has commented on the controversial request by President
Buhari.
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