Insecurity: Senators renew call on Buhari to sack service chiefs

Senators in Nigerian National Assembly on Tuesday decried the worsening insecurity in the country; the lawmakers of the Upper Chamber of the federal legislature revisited previous resolution, urging President Muhammadu Buhari sack the Service Chiefs of the country’s security structures.

The Senators debating on the kidnap of over 333 students of the Government Science Secondary School (GSS), Kankara Local Government Area, Katsina State, by bandits last Friday, expressed renewed vote of no confidence on the service chiefs, recommending their removal.

Senator Sani Musa, seconding the motion by Senator Bello Mandiya from Katsina State on the insecurity crisis in the north, declared: “There is a need for this chamber to draw the attention of Mr. President that enough is enough, these Service Chiefs should go.

“I am being very honest and talking from the heart. Enough of this thing. I wish the National Assembly will take drastic action on this. We have been appropriating; where are these funds going to?”

Senator Gabriel Suswam from Benue State chided the service chiefs for incompetence, assuring that the senators will support the Senate President in whatever resolution the Upper Chamber decided to address kidnappings and insecurity in the country.

Senator Opeyemi Bamidele stated that the Senate has done its best, protesting that the executive is not listening, and they are becoming helpless. He agitated why President Buhari has continued to refuse public outcry for the removal of service chiefs.

“We know the law and we are committed to protecting the constitution of the country. Today, Nigerians need to be told, we have tried our best, but nobody seems to be listening to us. What is the problem in removing Service Chiefs,” Senator Bamidele declared.

The senators in overarching decision, condemned in strong terms the attack on Government Science School, Kankara, Katsina State. They called on President Buhari to consider and implement the recommendations of the Senate ad-hoc Committee on Nigeria Security Challenges dated March 17th, 2020.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, stated: “there is nothing more important for the government to do than securing the lives of citizens of this country. That is the most important function of any government. I could see the level of frustration so to say.”

Lawan maintained that the legislative arm “should think outside the box” and continue to engage with the Executive arm of government until the appropriate actions are taken.

The Senate had on December 1, 2020, recommended that President Buhari remove the Service Chiefs and replace them with people with fresh ideas and solutions. The federal lawmakers had also passed a resolution demanding the service chiefs to quit.

The senators after the killing of 110 rice farmers in Borno State, had also told the President restructure and remodel the entire security architecture and investigate allegations of widespread corruption and leakages within the security architecture.