Presidency shared N22.4m to Chibok parents, escaped girls -Community

The Kibaku Area Development Association (Chibok community), has
explained that the Presidency shared N22.4m to the Chibok parents and
the escaped girls that held a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan
on July 22,2014, contrary to reports that N100m was doled out to the
recipients.

The Chibok community leadership refuted allegations that it was given
N100m to share to the parents and women, adding that it did not handle
or receive any money from the Presidency.

The association in a press statement signed by its Spokesman, Dauda
Ilya, in Abuja on Wednesday, said that 63 individuals comprising 51
escaped girls were given N100,000 each, 51 parents equally received
N100,000 each and another 61 parents got N200,000 each.

The community stated that 10 parents out of the 122 that took part in
the meeting with Jonathan did not receive any money.

It said, "On the night of July 22, 2014 at about midnight, the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties who had been
co-ordinating the visit on the side of the Presidency, visited the
hotel and told the 51 escaped girls who came that the Presidency sent
them a token of N100,000 each and accordingly gave them the said sum
without prior discussion with any KADA official or any other person in
the community.

"He equally gave the sum of N200,000 each to 61 parents out of the 122
parents that came on the visit. Fifty one parents were given N100,000
each on the basis that the money given to him was not enough to go
round at N200,000. The remaining 10 parents were not given any amount
of money.

"As for the money given to some parents back home in Chibok, it was
the sum of N1m given to them by the member of the House of Reps
representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency which is the
source of the alleged N7,000.00 given to parents in Chibok that were
not part of the visit."

The association said it was disturbed and disgusted by media reports
that its leadership received money from the Presidency, describing the
claim as "false, malicious and unfounded."

The KADA stated that it had spelt out to the Presidency through the
office of the Chief of Staff that it would not be involved with any
financial transaction whatsoever, including payment of transportation
from Chibok to Yola, flight by air from Yola to Abuja, hotel
accommodation and feeding in Abuja, as well as the intra-city
transportation of the parents and girls while in Abuja.

It said, " Our primary priority has and remains the rescue of our
abducted 219 daughters. Our Association has been at the forefront of
calling for decisive measures to secure their release.

"We took the moral high ground as a Community Association that
represents the Chibok people in Abuja to facilitate the recent visit
of parents of our abducted daughters and 51 of the 57 that escaped.

"We helped make that visit possible despite our misgivings that it was
a poor substitute to our expectation that Mr. President should have
visited Chibok even before the visit of our people for a tragedy that
is now 107 days old."

The Chibok community said while it welcomed any well intended support
for the suffering population of Chibok town who had lost their means
of livelihood since the April 14 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls,
"the approach the Presidency has adopted has brought reproach and
dishonor to our community in the eyes of the public that has supported
us since the abduction of our daughters."