Some parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who visited President Goodluck Jonathan last week have alleged that they were short-changed by their leaders from the money given to them by the president.
The parents, who spoke to BBC Hausa Service monitored in Abuja yesterday, alleged that up to N100 million was given to them by the Presidency but was not shared fairly.
One of the parents said though he was given an undisclosed amount of money, he was not satisfied with the amount.
“When we came, we were given money, but some of us didn’t get. Some of us were given N200, 000, while others got N100, 000, but there are others that didn’t get at all. I was told the amount is up to N100 million. I thought I should get more than that,” he said.
However, another parent who was not in Abuja for the visit said he and others were given N7,000 each after the visit.
“This is not something to be appreciative of,” the father said. “What we’re saying is that they should rescue our children.”
But leader of the Chibok community in Abuja, Dr Pogu Bitrus, who led the visit to Jonathan, said he never knew the total amount given as each parent was handed an envelope with some money.
“On what was given, we’re not aware. Whatever million it is, it was given to the parents and the children inside envelopes,” he said.
“All that we did was to lead them to the president, but we didn’t collect any money on their behalf.”
Later yesterday, Pogu spoke to Daily Trust on the matter, saying: “There is no fracas at all because we were not the ones who gave them the money. Yes. I saw envelopes being given to only the parents of the abducted girls. But you cannot take away some of these complaints when many people are involved. But our people didn’t come because of the money.”
But the Presidency has denied that Jonathan gave any money to the Chibok parents.
Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, in a statement last night, said: “The allegation is completely untrue. Nobody distributed any envelope after the meeting. The meeting was held in the Villa, a public place. After the meeting, the president left and the parents as well as the children went into their buses in the presence of the media. There was no time after the meeting when envelopes were distributed or money was given.
“The president is not part of and will never do anything to bribe anybody. This issue is not about money. We’re talking about human lives here. The allegation is completely wild. What they’re claiming is unknown to the president. Whoever is claiming it should prove it because no such thing happened.”
