Politics
Senate Meets With Service Chiefs Over Insecurity
The leadership of the Senate has met behind closed doors with service chiefs over the lingering security situation in the country.
The Tide source reports that present at the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Faruk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff; Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, and Chief Air Staff; Air Marshal Oladayo Amao.
Others were the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba; the Director-General of Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; the Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr Ahmed Audi and the Director General National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Ahmed Abubakar.
Our source also reports that the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, was said to be attending the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting when the closed-door session was held at the Senate.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, said the security challenges had lingered and the Senate had hoped that the situation would have been better.
He said: “This session is to look into where we are today and this current position where we are is most frightening. This is like there is nowhere to go.
“We have to review what more we have to do and what differently we have to do.
“Insecurity is everywhere and especially if it is coming to the point of dislocating the security situation where the government is quartered.
“We will really review and see what more we have to do and how differently we have to do.
“Our population is largely peasant. Most of our people are in the rural areas and they live their lives by going to farms. We all know this. In many parts of the country today, that is a herculean task.
“My belief is that we can do better to secure the rural areas, the so-called ungoverned space at least for our population who go to farms to earn their living.
“Where our agricultural productivity is drastically going down, that will complicate the security situation because the most ordinary Nigerian cares more about what he or she or what the family will eat. And of course, all other things are secondary.
“We have problems with our economy to some extent because of insecurity. No foreign direct investment or not as much as we would ordinarily attract to our country.
Our prayer is to start seeing serious, remarkable and dramatic changes from today.
“We hope that our discussions will give us the opportunity to consider other things or other areas or ideas that we didn’t have before,” Lawan said.
In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff said that issues of national security must be seen from a collective perspective.
While noting that quite a lot had happened and quite a lot had been done, Irabor assured Nigerians that the military would do more to improve the security setting across the country.
“The commitment is there. No one is leaving any stone unturned in redressing all the imbalances within the security environment,” he said.
During a press conference held in Owerri, the coalition called the campaign a “dangerous and shameful display” designed to distract the public from the governor’s performance in office.
The CSOs directly linked the Greater Imo Initiative (GII) —the group that made the allegations on September 4, 2025—to Governor Uzodimma, describing the group as his “mouthpiece and attack dog.”
“Every word spoken against INEC was spoken on his behalf.
“By falsely alleging that Professor Yakubu has an alliance with Dr. Amadi to compromise the 2027 elections, Uzodimma has not only maligned a man of proven integrity but also assaulted the very foundation of our democracy”, said Dr Agbo Frederick, speaking for the coalition.
The coalition described Professor Yakubu as a “beacon of electoral professionalism” and called the attempt to soil his reputation “defamatory and a national security risk.”
They also defended Dr. Amadi, a “respected development scholar,” stating that the governor’s accusations were “laughable, desperate, and dangerous.”
The CSOs see the motive behind the campaign as an attempt to “silence the dissent, intimidate the opposition, and divert attention from the governor’s abysmal record in office.”
The coalition issued four key demands to Governor Uzodimma: An immediate retraction of the false and defamatory allegations against Professor Mahmood Yakubu and Dr. Chima Amadi.
- A public apology to both men within seven days, to be published in at least three national newspapers and broadcast on major television networks.
- An end to diversionary tactics and proxy propaganda.
- A renewed focus on governance, including addressing insecurity, unemployment, and poverty in Imo State.
The CSOs warned that failure to comply would force them to “review our position with a view to seeking legal redress from Governor Uzodimma for defamation, false accusation, and reckless endangerment of lives.”
“Governor Uzodimma must be reminded that he did not find himself in the seat of power to chase shadows.
“We call on all Nigerians to reject Uzodimma’s diversionary antics as they are nothing short of desperate plots by a government terrified of accountability”, the statement concluded.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC expressed concern that preventing the senator from resuming her legislative duties violates democratic principles and disenfranchises her constituents.
“The suspension, having been imposed by the Senate and not a court of law, has lapsed. Any further attempt to prevent her from resuming is therefore both illegal and morally indefensible,” Mallam Abdullahi said.
The party noted that denying Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan access to the chamber silences the voice of the people who elected her, adding that the withdrawal of her salary, aides, and office access during the suspension amounted to excessive punishment.
The ADC also criticised the Clerk of the National Assembly for declining to process her resumption on grounds that the matter was before the courts, arguing that the Clerk’s role was administrative, not judicial.
“Administrative caution must not translate into complicity. When the administrative machinery becomes hostage to political interests, the institution itself is diminished,” the party stated.
Highlighting that Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan is one of only four women in the 109-member Senate, the ADC warned that the handling of the case sends a discouraging signal about gender inclusion in Nigerian politics.
“Any action that resembles gender intimidation of the few women in the Senate would only discourage women’s participation. Nigeria cannot claim to be a democracy while excluding half of its population from key decision-making spaces,” Mallam Abdullahi added.
The ADC insisted that Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan be allowed to resume her seat immediately, stressing that the matter was about more than one individual.
“What is at stake here is not just one Senate seat, but the integrity of our democracy itself,” the party said.
