Wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Tallen said the Federal Government was doing its best to secure the release of all girls in captivity.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, on Monday broke down in tears over the fate of Chibok schoolgirls and Leah Sharibu, who was one of the 110 female students abducted from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Borno State.
Tallen was responding to a question on the abducted girls at a briefing on President Muhammadu Buhari’s scorecard from 2015 to 2022 in Abuja when she could not hold back tears.
Wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Tallen said the Federal Government was doing its best to secure the release of all girls in captivity.
She said: “I want to assure you that we are all concerned. If you come to the office, you will see pictures. I’ve visited Leah Sharibu’s parents. I’ve reached out, I’ve supported them. Any request I put before Mr. President to remember them, he does.
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“You saw in the pictures over there, the helicopters and the security that Mr. President gave me to go to Chibok. I’ve been to Chibok three times. I went twice and the third time was to commission the Chibok Secondary School.
“Leah Sharibu’s parents are not in Chibok but we made arrangements when I got there to meet me in Yola at the Air Force Base due to security reasons.
“We are doing our best. As a mother, my heart is with them. We feel for them and all Nigerian women are praying. Mr. President is mindful of what they went through. All hands must be on deck. Security issue is not just Mr. President’s issue. Neither is it only my issue, nor the Minister of Information’s issue.
“Security is everybody’s business. When you see something, say something. I pray that Nigerians will be sincere enough to support our security chiefs with the right information for us to get these girls. I am touched as a mother. This is a season that we should show love and remember those in captivity. Our prayers are with them and I know very soon, God will release these children.”
Tallen had earlier chided political parties for what she described as unfair treatment of women concerning nominations for elective positions.