he Federal Government has called on the African Union (AU) to steer clear of the perennial crises in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Reacting to the call by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for the A.U. to intervene in the crises, the Federal Government said that it had the political will to tackle the crises. NBA, had in a statement presented to the 48th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Right holding in Banjul, sought AU's intervention. The association argued that the Federal Government had shown itself as incapable of resolving the crisis.
While exercising its right of reply, the Nigerian delegation to the session told the commission on Saturday that the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan had put in place security measures to forestall fresh crisis breaking out in Jos.
A Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Pius Oteh, who presented the Federal Government’s reply, said, "In the circumstances, we wish to state that there is no basis for the call by the NBA for the intervention of the AU in the resolution of the Jos crisis.
"Nigeria has already commenced the implementation of several peace-building measures in its sovereign capacity and we are hopeful that the measures will achieve the desired result."
He said that the federal government was in control of the situation.According to him, the report of a Presidential Advisory Committee on the Jos crisis set up by President Goodluck Jonathan was already being implemented.
"There is a demonstrable political will on the part of the government to take all necessary steps to restore peace permanently to Plateau State," he added.
Mr. Olasupo Ati-John while making a presentation on behalf of the NBA's President, Chief Joseph Daudu SAN, said the Jos crisis remained a potential threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria as a nation.The association consequently called on the AU to carry out an independent investigation into the Jos crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment