The military on Monday told President Muhammadu Buhari how the current weather conditions in parts of the country and some logistics have been hampering the nation’s ongoing war against members of the Boko Haram sect.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of a meeting the service chiefs held with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was held to review the terrorism war in the North East as well as the December deadline the President asked them to end insurgency.
Olonisakin said the security chiefs used the opportunity to intimate the President of the issues on the ground in the terrorism fight.
He said, “We briefed the President on the security situation on the ground after a 60-day review and we had to brief him on the challenges we have and ensure that the mandate we have is properly delivered.
“Of course, the challenges we are looking at are the issues of probably the weather as it were and some other logistics that we feel we should have so that the mandate can be quickly delivered.”
He said the President was excited about their presentation and granted their request.
When asked whether they are considering seeking extension of the period during which the President expected them to end the insurgency, Olonisakin said, “We have not said that. The mandate is that we should clear Boko Haram from the occupied territories and ensure that we reclaim all the lost grounds. That is exactly what we are doing.”
When further asked if the deadline was still feasible considering the challenges he enumerated, the CDS said, “It is a military operation and military operations have timelines and we are working on them assiduously.”
He said the United States and the United Kingdom had been helping the nation’s troops in capacity building, adding that any additional tangible assistance from these countries would be made public.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismaila, also told journalists that Buhari was excited that the leadership of the armed forces would do the nation proud.
He said, “We are here to brief the President on the situation of what armed forces have been doing in the North East and the South South. That is exactly what we discussed with Mr. President.
“The directive (from the President) is that we should continue what we have been doing and in the next few days, there will be another meeting.
“But by and large, the President is excited and confident that the leadership of the Nigerian armed forces that he puts in will do us proud.”
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