By Ali Abare Abubakar
The Council of State yesterday agreed to rally round President Goodluck Jonathan to enable him end the on-going Boko Haram carnage by the end of the year.
President Jonathan had convened an emergency Council meeting, where urgent national issues were discussed.
The Council of State is the highest advisory body to the Federal Government, made up of governors, former heads of state, National Assembly leadership and other top government officials.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Niger state governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, flanked by his Enugu and Akwa Ibom counterparts, Sullivan Chime and Godswill Akpabio as well as National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd), said all Council members resolved to support the President in making sure that the Boko Haram insurgency ends by the end of the year.
Mu’azu also stated that the Council discussed the discrimination of so-called non- indigenes in states.
According to the governor, the members resolved that all Nigerians are one and the same irrespective of where they live and work.
On his part, the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki also said the meeting was convened to respond to the threats and counter-threats issued by some northern and southern groups that non-indigenes should quit the south and the north.
He added that such threats were bad for the unity of the country, hence the need to convene the Council of state meeting which abolished the idea of registration and deportation of non-indigenes.
On the alleged use of abducted Chibok girls for suicide bombing, Dasuki said there was nothing the government could do about that.
“What really can anybody do? The Chibok girls who are in captivity are not under government control. The only thing we can do is try and address those who are outside who will have contact with them. If they are released today, we have a programme we put them through to make sure that if there is any indoctrination, we try at least to reduce the intensity if we don’t end it completely. That is all we can do before they go back into normal life,” the NSA said.
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