Sovereignty of Nigeria will not be compromised – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Friday that Nigeria will not compromise its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of current security challenges.

Jonathan, represented by the Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd), said this at the graduation ceremony of Course 22 Participants of the National Defence College (NDC) in Abuja.

He said that government had x-rayed the fletching position and environment of terrorism in the country because of its extreme destructive and socio-economic impact.

Consequently, he said government had initiated a number of programmes and dedicated platform to the suffering of the people in the aid recovery.

“We have made some gains against the adversary, we face an unspeakable evil and we must confront it with all our national endowment.

“As government we will not compromise our sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria and we will not allow the authority of Nigerian state to be challenged.

“Education is a human right which is invaluable transformational value and is the basis of our development progress.

“We shall not give up that right for some faceless, misguided, self-styled using the means of terror,” he said.

Jonathan said that the government was evolving a broad base national security strategy anchored on the holistic wellbeing of the Nigerian people.

“We will actively promote and hold on to societal goal and security that optimise our collective national strength.”

He, therefore, called on all Nigerians across partisan, ethnic, religious and cultural divide to close ranks with government to end insurgency, saying “there is no challenge that can divide the collective will of Nigerianss’’.

“May I also use this opportunity to assure all Nigerians that we are committed to bringing back the Chibok girls alive,” Jonathan declared.

He said the role of the Armed Forces intelligence and security agencies in the expanded security approach was crucial and urged them to take proactive measures.