About N500 million meant to rebuild a Chibok school may have
been diverted, an official has said.
The money was announced by the past administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan and was meant to rebuild the Government Secondary
School in Chibok, Borno State, after Boko Haram insurgents destroyed it and
kidnapped over 200 girls from the school in 2014.
Mr. Jonathan’s Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had
flown to Chibok in March 2015 to inaugurate the N500 million rebuilding project
under the Safe School Initiative programme.
A statement from the finance ministry said then that the new
school was expected to have a state of the art library, a laboratory, a
computer and ICT Centre, a sports arena and a clinic.
Two years after the foundation laying programme and
announcement by the government, nothing appears to have been done in the school
as students of the school remained at home.
It is not clear if the past administration did release part
or all of the N500 million.
When he visited Chibok on Tuesday, Governor Kashim Shettima
of Borno called for detailed investigation of what happened to the N500
million.
Mr. Shettima told residents of Chibok that his
administration would pressurise the Federal Government to uncover those who
might have diverted the money.
The governor lamented that a lot of individuals and groups
have turned the misfortune of Boko Haram victims into a money making venture.
He said it was important to determine how much was released
to the contractor handling the project as the school has remained in a state of
disrepair.
Mr. Shettima first arrived in Chibok to celebrate Boxing Day
with the residents of the town.
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