PDP TO NASS: Summon Buhari on national security now

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday urged the National Assembly to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to address the lawmakers on the worsening security situation across the country.

The members of the National Assembly will resume from the Christmas and New Year recess on Tuesday.

The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, premised its call on “the alarming Global Terrorism Index report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) which ranked Nigeria behind Iran and Afghanistan as the country with the highest level of terrorism in 2019.”

PDP described the report as distressing particularly as its indices showed that insecurity and deaths from acts of terrorism increased in Nigeria despite promises by the current administration.

Read also: NANS urges Obaseki, Shuaibu to reconcile with Oshiomhole

The statement read: “The party notes that the IEP rating has further confirmed its position that the security of lives and property in our nation has gone beyond what the Buhari administration’s security architecture, as presently composed, can guarantee.

“Our party posits that the issue of security has gone beyond partisan and sectional sentiments as well as propaganda and now requires concerted effort by all stakeholders to compel a review of the security structure and method by Mr. President.

“The PDP, as a pan-Nigerian platform, urges the National Assembly to step in by persuading Mr. President to heed wise counsel and rejig his security high command so as to inject new blood to tackle our security challenges.

“The party also urges the National Assembly to compel President Buhari to take a decisive step in ordering the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators of acts of terrorism including the mass killing in Benue, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Ekiti and other parts of the country under the current administration.

“The failure to track down and prosecute the perpetrators of heinous crimes had continued to emboldened marauders, insurgents, bandits and kidnappers to further ravage communities and major highways, beheading compatriots, killing, maiming and taking innocent citizens captives in droves, to the extent that our nation has become the third with the highest level of terrorism in the world.

“Indeed, this is not the way to go. Our party restates that such a situation should not have been allowed to fester and degenerate to this abyss.

“While the PDP salutes the gallantry and patriotism of our troops fighting and daily risking their lives in the fronts, our party charges the National Assembly to use its legislative instruments to invite Mr. President Buhari for an appropriate briefing as a prelude to decisive step towards ensuring adequate security in our country.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now