FG working closely with states to contain kidnapping, others, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

The Federal Government is working closely with states to rid the country of kidnapping and other security challenges bedeviling the nation, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

He made the disclosure in his message at a town hall meeting with the Nigerian community in New York, United States, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande.

In a chat with reporters in Abuja, the spokesman said he had seen some of the reports and the subsequent reactions of some group, including a faction of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere.

Making the clarification, Akande noted that, “a closer reading of what the vice president said would have avoided some of the wrong interpretations we have heard,” debunking the reports as inaccurate.

He said Osinbajo made four critical points during the town hall meeting with the Nigerian community.

The aide explained that his principal made it clear at the parley that the ongoing kidnappings were of great concern to government.

Besides, Akande quoted the vice president as saying that the Federal Government was using technology and tracking among other measures to curtail the situation.

The spokesperson said: “Prof. Osinbajo explained that the kidnappers are engaged in criminal conduct and with consequences enforced for such economic crimes, the kidnappers would stop.

“Finally, the vice president assured Nigerians both home and abroad that the Federal Government is on top of the situation and that the problem of kidnapping is not insurmountable.”

He noted that the problem was not as massive that it cannot be solved, adding that government was collaborating with the states to get the security problems resolved soon with a view to making life more secure and comfortable for Nigerians.

According to Akande,  “These are the things the vice president said and the record is there. Any other interpretation is not only inaccurate but ought to be ignored.

“Trying to latch on an inaccurate headline to attack the vice president is not very useful, it only distorts and distracts from the work and our country needs all hands on deck to sort out our issues.”