President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday charged the military to develop the appropriate intelligence and strategy to rescue the missing 209 students of Government Secondary School Chibok in Borno State in the quickest possible time.
The president gave the charge while interacting, via video conferencing with troops’ commanders in the North East, shortly after laying a wreath at the cenotaph of the ‘unknown soldier’ at the National Arcade, Abuja.
The interaction with troops was part of the programme for the wreath laying ceremony which was the climax of the 2016 Armed Forces and Remembrance Day.
Buhari, who expressed satisfaction with the performance of the troops, said Nigerians were equally concerned about their performance and were eagerly awaiting the return of the abducted Chibok girls.
He assured them of his administration’s commitment to improve their welfare and the military’s operational readiness to deal with contemporary challenges of national security.
“I am quite impressed with what you have done so far and what you are presently doing.
“Yesterday I met with some of the parents of the Chibok girls and the nation is anxiously waiting for you to provide the intelligence on their whereabouts and then the ground forces developing the strategy and tactics to recover them.
According to him, “Tell the troops that we are all concerned about their performance and I assure you the government is doing its best to make sure that they are provided with the best that is possible in terms of military hardware and efficiency in logistics and your allowances”.
The president expressed confidence in the ability of the Armed Forces to restore peace and order to parts of the country plagued by armed conflict and other forms of criminal activities.
Responding on behalf of the troops, the Theatre Commander, ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’, Major-General Hassan Umaru thanked the president for the Federal Government’s support to the military.
He assured the president and Nigerians that the troops were in high spirit and determined to put an end to the menace of insurgency in the North-East.
The president also interacted with the Air Component Commander of ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’, Air Vice Marshal Bayo Amao, who was on aerial surveillance of Bitta and Gwoza general areas.