We’ll make Nigeria safer —FG

AS the Federal Government begins crackdown on the Boko Haram kingpins, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has disclosed that the Federal Government will continue to make Nigeria safer.

The  minister, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Committee on Safe School Initiative at the Federal Ministry of Finance, stated that the ‘Safe School Initiative’ was put in place in the context of security challenges the country was facing and what some of our schools were going through. 

She said the initiative, when fully operational, would give parents more confidence, while the school children would not fear to go to school.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala stated that the initiative predated the kidnap of more than 200 school girls in Chibok, adding, however, that the Chibok kidnap crystallised the need to move quickly.

Stressing that the objective of the initiative was to make our school better and safer, the minister said the involvement of the international community, the private sector and the Federal  Government  indicated the seriousness everybody attached to the security challenges in our schools.

Okonjo-Iweala, who disclosed that the government would not relent in its efforts to make Nigeria safer, stressed that the ‘Victim Support Fund’, the presidential initiative on the North-East, which sole aim was to ensure adequate distribution of relief materials were meant to complement the ‘Safe Our School Initiative’.  

It will be recalled that President Jonathan, while announcing the members of the committee some weeks ago, provided $10 million take-off grant to the committee, while the private sector equally donated $10 million to the committee.