The Coalition of Patriots for Security Sector Reforms (CPSSR) has welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the preparation of a National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, describing it as a timely effort to improve coordination, resource allocation and operational effectiveness across Nigeria’s security architecture.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Salisu Attah, the coalition said the 90-day timeline should be viewed as an opportunity to consolidate existing security frameworks into a practical operational plan rather than as an attempt to create another strategy document.
President Tinubu had directed an 11-member committee to prepare the National Threat Assessment and Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days.
The assessment is expected to identify Nigeria’s principal security threats and their urgency, while the defence plan will establish operational priorities, identify capability and equipment gaps and provide an implementation timetable.
CPSSR said the decision to appoint Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (Rtd), the President’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, to coordinate the committee was particularly significant, describing him as suitably positioned to provide the coordination required for the exercise.
“Major General Adeyinka Famadewa brings to this assignment a combination of military, intelligence and strategic security experience that is relevant to the task before the committee.
His responsibility to coordinate the process and provide secretariat support should not be interpreted as a duplication of the role of the National Security Adviser or the service chiefs.
Rather, it provides a dedicated coordination mechanism to ensure that the work of the committee is coherent, properly documented and delivered within the 90-day timeframe,” the statement said.
“Major General Famadewa, who was appointed Special Adviser on Homeland Security in May, is a retired general with more than three decades of military and intelligence experience spanning national security strategy, intelligence fusion, counter-terrorism operations and international security diplomacy.”
The coalition said Famadewa’s previous articulation of homeland-security priorities, including unified surveillance, identity management, border security and stronger early-warning and crisis-response mechanisms, further demonstrated the relevance of his coordinating role.
CPSSR also rejected suggestions that the new initiative would render existing security strategies irrelevant, saying the focus should be on achieving greater coherence among policies and operational frameworks already in place.
“The objective is not to discard what already exists, but to bring greater clarity to how existing strategies, institutions, capabilities and resources fit together.
The National Threat Assessment will provide a current picture of the threats confronting the country, while the Strategic Defence Operations Plan will translate that assessment into clearly prioritised military and defence requirements. This is a necessary link between strategy, operations, capability and funding,” Attah said.
The group noted that the presidential directive expressly provides for the committee to consult or co-opt representatives of other ministries, departments and agencies where their expertise or participation is required.
It said this provision was important because Nigeria’s security challenges cut across military, intelligence, policing, border management, infrastructure and other civilian institutions.
CPSSR further welcomed the decision to link the proposed plan to a multi-year defence expenditure and procurement framework, describing it as critical to avoiding fragmented spending and ensuring that scarce resources are directed towards clearly identified national security priorities.
“The real test of this initiative will not be the quality of the document produced after 90 days, but whether its recommendations are implemented, funded and subjected to measurable accountability.
Nigeria needs security planning that survives individual operations, budget cycles and institutional changes. We therefore urge all stakeholders to support this process and allow the committee to complete its work without unnecessary distractions,” Attah said.
The coalition urged the security establishment and other stakeholders to support the administration’s efforts to strengthen inter-agency coordination and ensure that the new framework translates into improved security outcomes across the country.
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