Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Peace and Resolution of Conflict in the Northeast and Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Taminu on Tuesday revealed that the committee will submit its report to the president in another week or thereabouts.
Speaking while briefing the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the activities of his ministry, Tanimu stated that his committee had completed 99 per cent of its assignment while one week would be enough to accomplish the remaining one per cent.
Ask if leader of the Boko haram Islamist sect, Abubakar Shekau, Taminu refused to give a pinpoint answer.
“I think I should also ask you where is Shekau. Now with all sense of responsibility, we have been directed by Mr. President to identify key members of the sect and engage them in dialogue,” he said.
“Mr. President did not ask us to look for Shekau and engage him in dialogue. And it is important for Nigerians to appreciate that in matters of this nature, you don’t just wake up one day even as a dialogue committee established by government and say you are discussing with the highest leadership of the insurgents.”
He added that his committee has won the trust of leaders of the sect, after it was discovered that the committee was sincere in its agenda.
“They go back without any molestation. Then at the next meeting, they would deploy a higher set of members. And this is how it has been going to the level where we now. We have started to engage key members of the insurgents,” he said.
“But for us, it does not have to be Shekau. The committee cannot determine for them who should represent them. As far as we know, these are genuine members of the organisation. We deal with them and we have several ways of determining whether they are genuine members or not.”
Taminu revealed that the committee had come across people pretending to be members of the sect, but he assured that the committee took its time to identify the genuine members and dialogue with them.
