Tension in Presidency, as Senate tells Buhari to resign

There are emerging indications of tension in the Presidency as the Senate on Wednesday demanded President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation over rising insecurity in the country.

The Senate on Wednesday deliberated extensible on a motion on the deplorable security across Nigeria which culminated in the consideration to restructure Nigeria’s security system, after the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan,  had admitted that the current security system in the country has failed.

The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, being the first to speak on the motion, berated President Buhari over the inability to tackle the security crisis and allowing it to snowball into large scale violence attacks in the country.

The Senate Minority Leader expressed consternation over the president’s  claim of being surprised at the rising insecurity and the acceleration of Boko Haram insurgency in the country, yet, the president meets with the service chiefs who brief him from time to time on the insecurity crisis and their efforts in combating the violence.

The Senator, therefore, urged President Buhari to resign from office over the rising insecurity in the country.

“…If you want to treat an issue, you go to the head. We did not appoint the IG or the security chiefs. We will go to the president and ask him to resign,” Senator Abaribe declared.

The Senate Minority Leader further chided the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, for insulting and referring to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as a political party for condemning the killing of Christians by Boko Haram.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan had interrupted Senator Abaribe on the call on President Buhari to resign, telling him to focus on how to tackle insecurity.

Senator Abaribe, however, maintained: “Nigerians voted APC because they promised to tackle insecurity, but they have failed…”

Lawan had protested again, trying to avoid partisanship in the debate.

The senators devoted Wednesday to deliberate on the security challenges in Nigeria where Boko Haram terrorists, kidnappers, Fulani herdsmen, bandits and others have continued to make life misery for innocent Nigerian citizens; and the crime wave has been on the increase, particularly in the north.

The country and international community were thrown into disbelief when President Buhari, on Tuesday, said he was surprised at the growing insecurity in Nigeria, making fresh post-election promise that his government will be “harder” on bandits.

The call for the president’s resignation unsettled the APC leadership and the party senators in the National Assembly. Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State rose to confront Senator Abaribe but the senate president called everyone to order for peace to reign in the Upper Chamber of the federal legislature.