Members of the Bring Back Our Girls, on Monday, January 16, joined the Federal Government team on search sorties over Sambisa Forest for the missing Chibok school girls.
Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yusuf, both co-ordinators of BBOG, were part of the team led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The BBOG group had initially requested a pre-tour meeting and a retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, which the group said it found slanderous, as conditions for joining the FG team on the trip.
But the FG reportedly declined the pre-tour meeting with the BBOG, saying it was unable to postpone the trip as scheduled.
Mohammed said, “Thank you for your letter, dated Jan. 13, which is in response to ours of Jan. 11, requesting that we change the date of the proposed guided tour of the North-East to accommodate a Pre-Tour Meeting between your organisation and some top officials of the Federal Government.
“We have also noted the conditions you gave for embarking on the trip, which include the said Pre-Tour Meeting and the retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, which the BBOG finds to be slanderous. We regret, however, to inform you that we are unable to postpone the trip as scheduled.”
The BBOG, through a letter by Ezekwesili, later accepted to be part of the trip, thewhistler.ng reports.
The letter dated January 14 was signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
Please find below the details of the latest communication between the FG and the BBOG
1. LETTER FROM #BBOG Co-Convener, Oby Ezekwesili to the FG
From: Oby Ezekwesili
Date: 15 January 2017
To: HonMinister InfoCul
Subject: Re: #BBOG LETTER
Thanks Minister Mohammed for your letter of the 14th January in response to ours.
Can you please quickly provide us more details of the tour duration and detailed logistics including the names of the local and international media on the delegation.
We need those information to enable us send you a more substantial letter conveying our acceptance to join the “Guided Tour”. Many thanks for your invitation. Blessings, Oby 2.
RESPONSE FROM THE FG TO #BBOG
Dear Mrs Ezekwesili,
Thank you for your letter which I received via email this Sunday evening, at 8:20 pm, seeking more details on the planned trip to the North East.
Let me also express how glad I am that #BBOG is willing to reconsider its decision not to join us on the trip.
The trip will last two days, starting on Monday, 16 Jan. 2017.
Concerning the logistics, the team will be ferried to Yola by the Nigerian Air Force, from where a select group will join the NAF search mission to Sambisa (Please see below for the programme).
On the list of the local and international journalists accompanying us, please see the names below:
1. Stanley Nwosu FRCN
2. Fred Ayo NTA
3. Anthony Forson NTA
4. Solomon Chung VON
5. Ariyo Obagbemile FMIC Photographer
6. Amaka Okafor Channels TV
7. Kabiru Owoyomi Channels TV
8. Felix Onuah Reuters
9. Rotimi Jikanmi NAN
10. Ola Awoniyi AFP
11. Seun The Nation
12. Samson Adeleke CCTV (To syndicate video to international broadcasters)
13. Sola Fabiyi Punch
14. Joseph Mutah CPS
Note: The times of London Correspondent is on standby.
Thanks and best regards Alhaji Lai Mohammed Minister of Information and Culture
PROGRAMME Arrive Monday do the exercise and depart Tuesday Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) Programme is broadly ISR Day/ Night – planning brief – Flight over Sambisa – Debrief Ex wash up / Media Interview
