The President is to brief lawmakers on how he is addressing the growing insecurity in the country, it was resolved yesterday.
This
is the first time since the return of democratic governance in 1999 that
a President has been invited by lawmakers to address them.
The President visits the legislature only when he is inaugurating a new Assembly or presenting the budget.
The
House of Representatives adopted a resolution that President Goodluck
Jonathan should address it in a closed session on the steps he has taken
so far and how he is addressing the insecurity in the land.
The resolution followed a motion by Yakubu Barde (PDP Kaduna) supported by Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN Lagos).
It was in response to the weekend suicide bombings in Kaduna and Monday’s terrorist attacks on Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.
More
than 50 people were killed in the attacks on churches in Kaduna and
Zaria. The death toll in the attacks on Damaturu is believed to be over
30. Many are displaced.
In
adopting the motion, the legislators rejected the proposal to have the
President address a joint session of the National Assembly.
They
also rejected the proposal compelling the Inspector-General of Police,
Mohammed Abubakar, to transfer police officers from the rank of
Inspector and above to their states of origin.
Barde
described as unfortunate, the loss of lives and destruction of property
that followed the Sunday attacks in Zaria and Kaduna, and the
subsequent reprisal attack.
Barde
said: “Kaduna has always been known to be peaceful but these
unfortunate attacks have driven fear into the minds of the people. Now,
people will say attacks are not religious, but people are now afraid of
going to their places of worship.
“Not
only that, businesses are now badly affected in the region. Which
investor would want to go to that area to invest? In other words,
poverty is being perpetrated in that region.
“To
me, the question is no longer when would the next bomb blast go off or
when would the next attack be launched and where, but of how long are we
going to live with this?”
Benjamin
Aboho (PDP, Benue) expressed regret that President Jonathan has been
unable to tackle the security issues thrown up by the Boko Haram since
it assumed a more dangerous dimension about two years ago.
He
alluded to the President’s trip to Brazil and the bribery scandal
rocking the House.”Does that mean that the climate change conference is
more important to the President than the lives and property of
Nigerians? It seems that the Presidency is more interested in damaging
the credibility of the lawmakers instead of addressing the security
situations of this country,” he said.
Contributing
to another motion on insecurity in Zamfara State, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas
blasted President Jonathan for his insensitivity by traveling out at a
time when the country is boiling.
“I
think the time has come for the House to summon the President and give
him a marching order on steps to take in addressing the question of
insecurity in this country. To whom much is given, much is expected,”
she said.
“Toby
Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu) cited the negative fallouts of the Civil War and
kidnapping on the socio-economic life of the people where it started
from before spreading to other parts of the country.
He
warned that steps must be taken urgently before bombing takes a
business dimension. “We should not see the problem as restricted to the
Northeast. Now it has spread to the Northwest and, if care is not taken,
the rest of the country risks being engulfed by the phenomenon.”
Gbajabiamila
said the President had abandoned the last line of the oath of office he
took - to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
“Rather,
the President felt that travelling overseas for some climate change,
not minding that the insecurity situation in this country right now is
infringing on the rights of Nigerians to religion and peaceful assembly.
“The
current situation has also infringed on the rights of Nigerians to free
movement and rights to life. How do we relate with a situation whereby
for five hours, state security agencies could not contain this attack.
“This
can be pardoned if element of surprise was there like a bomb going off
without warning, but for five hours, that is absurd. Does that mean that
we have to look elsewhere for solution to this problem?”
Besides,
he posited that the legislature must take the initiative out of the
hands of the Executive through a bill that would ensure the reformation
of the security system.
The
Minority Leader stressed that the House must not shy away from its
oversight functions over the Presidency, the President inclusive, to
make him adhere to the oath he swore.
He
said the President needed to appear before the Representatives in a
closed session where ideas would be exchanged on way out of the security
challenges.
Lanre Odubote (ACN, Lagos) said a constitutional amendment was necessary to address insecurity.
He
said regional autonomy, decentralisation of fiscal authorities as well
as decentralisation of security apparatus must be in place, to address
the issue.
Nkiruka
Onyejeocha (PDP, Abia) blamed her colleagues for shying away from
discussing Boko Haram when it first reared its head. “When a member
raised the issue, it was taken to executive session and I remember that
it was said that we should not discuss it because of the effect it might
have on us.”
She
went on: “I also remember that someone said if we failed to address it
then, that the problem might get to consume us. What I will say is that
as leaders in whatever capacity, we should look within ourselves and
seek the face of God.
“We
should go to our constituencies and educate our people on security
issues and do whatever is necessary to assist in bringing this problem
to an end.”
Jerry
Mnwe (PDP, Taraba) wanted to know what security agencies were doing
with the “huge” funds allocated to them yearly. “Is it to buy AK47 only
or is it to buy bomb detectors for Aso Villa or the National Assembly
alone and leave the rest of Nigerians to their fate?”
Manwe
felt that President Jonathan and the National Security Adviser (NSA),
Gen. Owoeye Azazi, appeared to be afraid of apprehending the
perpetrators of the violence.
“Is
Jonathan, Azazi and the IGP, Abubakar Mohammed afraid that they can’t
arrest the people they said they know? I think Nigerians should mobilise
to arrest whoever comes out tomorrow to tell us that they know those
behind the attacks and cannot arrest them.”
Opeyemi
Bamidele (ACN, Ekiti), Mohammed Monguno (ANPP, Borno) James Faleke
(ACN, Lagos) and Oluchi Ibeji (PDP, Abia) among others added their
voices to the need for the President to explain the situation.
The
lawmakers condemned the attacks in Zaria, Kaduna and Damauru and in
other parts of the country. They also commiserated with the victims.
They urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide the victims with relief materials.
On
the modalities for inviting he President, House Committee Chairman on
Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed said the House would formally
write to the President.
“We
will not say just by the resolution of the House we have invited him, we
will formally write to him, inviting him to come along with his
Security Chiefs to explain what steps have been taken so far.
“From
there, we will know where we are to come in and offer assistance; from
there too, we will be able to know what we are going to tell our
constituents on what the government is doing about the security
situation in the country.
“When we are inviting him, the public will know about it”.
By
No comments:
Post a Comment