President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has expressed concern over the level of insecurity in Nigeria which he said has reached a fever pitch high with “nowhere to hide” for everyone. Lawan lamented that the level of insecurity in the land has assumed such a “frightening” dimension that even the seat of power seems to be on edge.
The Senate President stated this when the leadership of the upper legislative chamber met with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor. “This session is to look into where we are today and to look if it is the most frightening and its like nowhere to hide or go.
It is dislocating even where the head of government is located and what more can we do.” The meeting is coming barely a week after some senators in the minority stormed out of the chamber threatening to serve impeachment notice on President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails in six weeks to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.
Addressing the Security heads shortly before the meeting went into a closed door, Lawan said the security crisis in Nigeria has lingered for too long and appears to be worsening despite Senate providing all the necessary support to the executive to tackle the situation, stressing that the level of insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming proportion that cannot be tolerated. “Our security may not be at 100% but there is a level no country can tolerate.
Ours have lingered and we had hoped that the situation would have been better by now”. “I believe our security agencies are doing their best but I believe they can still do more”. The President of the Senate lamented that the spate of insecurity has badly affected the farming activities in the country; and consequently slowed down the economy. “Our population is largely peasant and farming in many areas has become a herculean task and where our agriculture is going down, will further complicate the situation for the country.
He said the situation has made it impossible to attract enough Foreign Direct Investment(FDI). Lawan also called the attention of the Security heads to the level of massive oil theft in the country and how the stealing that is going is threatening the exploration of many oil companies with Nigeria losing huge revenues. ” The level of oil theft is at an industrial scale. Many oil companies do not think the environment is safe anymore for them. The economy is so challenged that government will find it difficult to provide service in a mono-economy”.
The President of the senate who called on the Security Heads to buckle up said he would like to see ” dramatic changes” begining from the end of the meeting.
In his response, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor said the military is leaving “no stone unturned in addressing the imbalances in the country’s security. He said the morale to end insurgency and other acts of criminality remains high. ” I believe the wisdom of the senate president is borne out of the fact that issues of national security must be collective. I assure quite a lot has happened an quite a lot is being done, and the commitment is there and profound.
No one is leaving any stone un turned”, he said. Others at the crucial security meeting were the Chief of Army Staff ,Lt Gen Farouk Yahaya, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao. Also present at the meeting were the Director-General of State Security Service, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
