The Africa Support and Empowerment Initiative, AFRISEI, a non-government organisation owned by Hadiza Buhari-Bello, a daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, has rejected allegations of franchise infringement levelled against it by the Chibok girls movement, BBOG, led Oby Ezekwesili.
According to a statement jointly signed by the president of the NGO, Ms. Buhari-Bello, and the secretary, Don Uche, she said that their organization is a responsible body that would never engage in illegal activities by stealing someone else’s franchise.
She explained that contrary to Dr. Ezekwesili’s allegation, her organization did not need to lean on the BBOG to be of service to the Chibok Girls and therefore had no reason to steal anything from BBOG or use its name to achieve any advantage.
The Africa Support and Empowerment Initiative, she said, have its own defined objectives and that it didn’t need to steal anybody’s ideas to operate in line with its own objectives.
The statement also explained that their organization is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and issued certificate of incorporation on 14th July, 2016.
While praising the activities of the BBOG to raise and sustain awareness about the plight of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, the President’s daughter said that their organization had broader objectives beyond the Chibok girls.
They said though the Chibok girls are within the priority of their organization, its commitments to humanitarian causes didn’t end with Chibok schoolgirls.
“Given the size of the problem at hand, the more Organisations we have assisting Chibok and other devastated communities, the better for the country,” the statement said.
Hadiza Buhari and Uche said that as a charitable organization, AFRISEI is committed to empowering the youth and the less privileged in the area of job creation and skill acquisition.
“It is also committed to supporting the education of the less privileged students, giving material support to the downtrodden the internally displaced persons.”
They also said AFRISEI is committed to educating the masses to discourage unhealthy practices such as child trafficking, child abuse, child labour and gender discrimination.
The AFRISE president and secretary said there is no law that prevents their organization from assisting the Chibok schoolgirls, adding that, as a charity organization, they offer help to people in distress, including the Chibok girls and the Boko Haram victims.
ThisDay
