Garba Shehu, former special media and advertising assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed the statements of former President Goodluck Jonathan that Bokari was nominated by Boko Haram to mediate peace conversations with the federal government.
In statement Titled ‘Boko Haram did not nomine Buhari as his mediator’ issued on Friday, Shehu described Jonathan’s comment as “a false beginning” before a possible 2027 presidential offer.
Jonathan had made the comments in the public presentation of ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and The Boko Haram Conundrum’, a book written by former Chief of Staff of Defense (CDS), General Lucky Irabor (RTD.), Where he said that Boko Haram’s insurgents once called Buhari as his favorite negotiator.
According to Jonathan, “one of the committees that we established then, Boko Haram nominated Buhari to take his team to negotiate with the government.
“So I felt that, Oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and have an argument with the government committee, then, when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them, and they would have delivered their weapons. But I was still there until today.”
In reaction to the comment, Shehu accused Jonathan of trying to distort the facts to obtain political profits, urging him to “look for another story to tell the Nigerians.”
Shehu said: “Muhammed Yusuf or Abubakar Shekau, the deceased leaders of Boko Haram’s terrorist group, never nominated Muhammadu Buhari for that role. In fact, Shekau denounced routinely and threatened Buhari, and his ideologies were in direct opposition.”
He recalled that in 2014, Buhari escaped by little of a bomb attack allegedly orchestrated by Boko Haram in Kaduna, which left some of his personnel injured.
“In 2014, Muhammadu Buhari escaped from a bomb attack against his life from Boko Haram in Kaduna, in which his personal staff suffered several degrees of injuries.
“Buhari’s campaigns focused on fighting Boko Haram and restoring security to Nigeria every time he became president, putting him in direct opposition to the leader of the terrorist group.”
Shehu also explained that the reports of the alleged nomination of Buhari were based on the misinformation released by a faction of the terrorist group, possibly sponsored by political opponents, who held a press conference in Maiduguri that claimed that Buhari and other northern leaders had been chosen to mediate with the federal government.
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“What Led to the Misleading Information Was That A Facion of the Terrorist Group, Possibly Sponsored by Buhari’s Opponents, StageD a Press Conference In Maiduguri, Born State, Through A Certain Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, WHO CLAIMED TO BE THE BOKO HARAM HARAM HARAM HARAM Charge of Southern and Northern Borno, Saying That the Sect Would Prefer The Former Military Leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, former governor of the state of Yobe and then senator, now deceased Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Nigerian Petroleum Prime Minister, Shetta Ali Monguno, also president of the Presidential Committee of the Presidential Committee of the Presidential Committee On insecurity in the Northeast, Ambassador Gaji Gatimari and other prominent members of the Born Emirate to mediate between them and the federal government.
“Abdulaziz was strongly convicted of Boko Haram’s leaders, who said he had no” mandate of his leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau. “
He also cited the response of the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which immediately denied the claim, citing the National Secretary of the party, Eng. Buba Galadima, who said that Buhari “has not even been heard” and described the report as mere speculation.
Shehu urged Jonathan to look for a more credible campaign narrative before 2027, stating: “Win in 2027, Dr. Jonathan should look for a better story to tell the Nigerians.”
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