The Real Reason Buhari And His Delegates Missed An Important UN Meeting On Boko Haram

The presidency has reacted to reports that the Nigerian delegation to the 70th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly missed an important meeting where help for displaced persons were to be discussed.

Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant on media and publicity to the president, in a statement said the meeting which the Nigerian delegation missed was not one of the official meetings President Muhammadu Buhari and his delegations were due to attend at the United Nations, This Day reports.

According to Shehu, Nigeria was present at an important side event devoted to the North-east called by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on “Building Stability and Resilience in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Countries.”

The president’s spokesman said Buhari has been holding discussions with other world leaders on measures to give succour to  internally displaced persons since he arrived in New York on Thursday night.

He noted that Buhari’s administration remained fully committed to the rehabilitation and well-being of all persons who have been displaced or adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

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The statement read: “While the meeting referred to in media reports is commendable, it was  not the only one or the most important of such meetings in New York that are paying attention to the problem of insecurity, migration and violent extremism in the Lake Chad area and the rest of the world.

“Anyone trying to create an impression of dereliction of duty, based on the Nigerian delegation’s absence at an unofficial meeting, is only being mischievous and uncharitable.”

Shehu explained that President Buhari was fully conscious of his responsibility to Nigeria and he will not accept anything less than the best for Nigerians in the meetings taking place in and around the United Nations.

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“This notwithstanding, it must be realised that it will be near impossible for any national delegation, no matter its size, to participate in   all  the meetings that are simultaneously happening in and around the General Assembly in New York,” he added.

President Buhari left Nigeria on Thursday for New York to attend the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. He was accompanied by a team of 21 politicians, including the governors of Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger states, the National Security Adviser and the permanent secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Health, Industry and Trade and Investment.

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