News
Insecurity: Again, Reps Summon Buhari …End Private Visit, Return Home, PDP Tells Buhari …As Gbajabiamila Lobbies Reps-Elect With Phones For Speakership
The House of Representatives, yesterday, re-invited President Muhammadu Buhari to appear on the floor of the chamber to address the lawmakers on what his administration was doing about the high spate of insecurity across Nigeria.
This is the second invitation by the lawmakers to the President within three weeks.
The House had on April 11, 2019, unanimously adopted a motion with the mandate to issue a query to the President, asking him to explain the reason for the spate of insecurity under his administration and what he was doing to tame the situation within 48 hours.
The lawmakers resolved to “request that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces address the House and the entire nation within 48 hours”.
At the plenary, last Tuesday, another motion was adopted on the security crises in parts of Katsina State, making the chamber to re-invite the President.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to return home and fix the security challenges facing the country.
Disclosing this in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, the party said that Buhari’s trip to the UK is ‘completely unacceptable’, noting that he practically abandon his responsibilities as the Commander-In-Chief of the country.
The PDP equally accused Buhari of abandoning his job and letting bandits, marauders and insurgents seize the nation; maim, kidnap and kill Nigerian citizens with reckless abandon.
The statement reads thus, “President Buhari’s inattention has emboldened insurgents and bandits to continue to over-run communities, unleash mayhem and bloodletting on citizens in Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Taraba, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi and other states of the federation, including Mr. President’s home state, Katsina.
“While President Buhari wanders abroad, bandits are having a field day, pillaging communities in Katsina State; killing several persons and abducting the District Head of his hometown, Daura, Musa Umar; the father in-law of Mr. President’s security aide.
“Within this period, marauders invaded communities in Adamawa and killed no fewer than 26 innocent Nigerians; many more have been killed in Borno, Taraba, Benue and Zamfara states, where bandits also reportedly attacked Government Girls Secondary School, Moriki, and kidnapped some school girls.
“While the Buhari administration remains virtually nonchalant, kidnappers have taken over many of our major highways, with hundreds of compatriots held in captivity in forests along Kaduna-Abuja, Taraba-Katsina-Ala and other highways in the country.
“It is clear that President Buhari has not demonstrated required capacity to control the security situation and now resorts to cheap escapism, particularly in the face of allegations in the public space that certain individuals around his administration are benefitting from the situation.
“This is in addition to allegations that some of the bandits arrested, in states such as Katsina, are not Nigerians but aliens allegedly imported by the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Niger Republic to assist it in unleashing violence and rigging the 2019 general elections.
“The PDP urges the police to investigate this alleged links. The fact remains that President Buhari has completely failed our nation.
“In fact, his dereliction to duty is a clear signal that he has been practically overwhelmed, deflated and has nothing to offer.
“The situation in Nigeria today signposts the terrible condition our nation will face if the Presidential mandate is not retrieved at the tribunal to enable competent and uncompromised hands to run the affairs of our country.
“The PDP, therefore, calls on President Buhari to immediately return home and use the remaining part of his tenure to seek help instead of wandering abroad under the guise of private visits”, the PDP added.
In another development, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress and Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday held a marathon meeting with newly elected members behind closed doors.
Gbajabiamila, in the middle of the meeting, led the members-elect to address journalists, where the outgoing Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Mr. Omofiok Luke, who spoke on their behalf, said the incoming representatives had endorsed the Majority Leader for Speaker in the 9th National Assembly.
The members-elect were said to be 178, drawn from various political parties.
Luke said, “I am the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State and here with me are newly-elected members of the House of Representatives, and this is a conglomeration of people of different parties.
“I am of the PDP. We have members of the APC here. We have members of APGA, we have people from AA, we have people from ACP and we have people from ADC. It’s a multi-party arrangement.
“We decided to convene ourselves as newly-elected members of the House of Representatives to look at the emergence of the next leadership of the 9th Assembly and in doing so, we looked through the antecedents and credentials of those who are aspiring to lead the National Assembly.
“We acknowledge the fact that this country today, with the challenges that we have, that we need a bipartisan approach to solve the problem of Nigeria.
“And the person and the man that has shown that credibility, capacity; that has what it takes even as reflected in his manifesto, to carry the entire parties along in resolving and solving the issues of Nigeria;
the man who will not mortgage the independence of the legislature but at the same time would not engage the executive in unnecessary fisticuffs; a man who will build a good relationship between the executive and the legislature, between the legislature and the judiciary; a man who will care about the welfare of Nigerians; a man who will put the interest of Nigeria above his personal interest; and a man who will put the interest of Nigeria above the party.
“We have resolved today, to have come from our different states, from our different constituencies, and we have found as newly-elected members, having looked through the credentials and the CV; we have found Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as a man who has the capacity to lead the 9th National Assembly as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“We know that he is not going to let Nigerians down and we know and believe that he is not going to let us down and we know and believe that he is not going to let God down.”
Soon after the address, the members-elect returned to their closed-door meeting at about 6pm.
Some of those in attendance were seen each with a pack of Tecno F1 phone, which some of them gave to their orderlies and aides to hold.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.
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