President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said his physical presence in Chibok, Borno State where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted on April 14 would not solve the problem caused by the Boko Haram insurgents.
He said since the abducted girls were not being held in the school, the major challenge before him and his government now is to locate and rescue them.
Jonathan spoke while answering a question during a press conference held to announce the conclusions of a regional summit on security in Nigeria held in Paris, France.
The President had not visited the community since the incident happened over a month ago nor has he visited any part of the North east where the insurgents have killed thousands of people and destroyed properties running into billions of naira.
Although he was earlier scheduled to visit the school on Friday, the trip was called off later in what many people believed could have been because of security reasons.
Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, however said Jonathan was never scheduled to visit the town, describing the reports as malicious.
The President said during the press conference that he was not averse to visiting scenes of terror attacks as he had done so in the past, insisting that the Chibok case was different since there was nobody in the school.
“These girls are not held in Chibok. Sometime, people want the President to go to Chibok. If the President goes to Chibok today, it does not solve any problem. The problem facing the President and indeed the Nigerian government is how to get these girls from wherever they are,” he said.
The President also noted that security chiefs have already visited the area and also said the allegation of misappropriation of funds by the military was exaggerated but conceded that administrative lapses may have a part to play in the inadequate funding of the war against terror.
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