The Senate on Thursday stated that elections may not hold in the areas that are under the control of Boko Haram unless recaptured.The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence, Senator George Sekibo, made this known while briefing newsmen after over two hours of closed doors meeting with the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Kenneth Minimah, on the increasing spate of insurgency in the North East.
Sekibo said if the military is able to recapture the affected areas, then elections will hold there.
Sekibo said: “If we are able to get back all the territories that have been captured by the insurgents, then it means that we are good for the elections and that is the assurance they are giving to us that in a couple of weeks from now, they will be able to take back all those places.”
Earlier, the meeting between members of the Senate Committee on Defence and Minimah was almost marred as they engaged in a shouting match .
While the Army Chief insisted that he will not discuss military operational matters before the press, the committee members mandated Minimah to make a statement that will let Nigerians know the situation of things in the affected areas.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Sekibo said the Army Chief has assured the committee that the captured areas by Boko Haram will be recaptured very soon.
Sekibo said: “Do you know that until early this year, we were not really facing the insurgents, we were defending.
“It was sometime this year that we went on the offensive.
“As any other war, sometimes there will be problems here and there.
“If they have given you confidence before and you think they did not get, we don’t see it that way.
“We feel that Abuja and other parts of the country, including the North, are very safe because the military is working very hard.
“So we have their confidence and we trust they will do better.
“You will recall for some of you that followed us to Borno sometime last year, the insurgents were controlling about 17 or 20 local governments.
“But today, it has been reduced drastically to about nine on Borno.
“It means that we are taking over some places.
“In some areas like Yobe and Adamawa, we believe that in a couple of weeks, they will take them over.”
