The House of Representatives has unanimously asked the Service Chief to resign their positions, adding that they have outlived their usefulness to the nation.
The House said the Service Chiefs have not been able to address the security challenges confronting the country since 2015 when they were appointed by the President, adding that they have adopted same strategies that have not yielded any positive result.
Arising from a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Chief Whip of the House, Hon, Mohammed Tahir Mongunu and 14 others, the House asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Service Chief if they failed to resign their positions.
In the motion titled “Need to Curb the Incessant Attacks of the Boko Haram Insurgents in the North-East Zone”, Mongunu expressed concern about the recent upsurge in attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East zone, recalling that activities of the insurgents were reduced to the barest minimum resulting in improved security in Borno and Yobe States.
He said that successes recorded by the security agents led to increased economic activities within the North-East zone, adding that regrettably, the insurgents who were relegated to the background are now unleashing terror in Borno and Yobe States;
He said “recently, the insurgents have
forced the Nigerian Military to close traffic on the Damaturu-Maiduguri Road
for some days. The Damaturu-Maiduguri Road is the only access from Maiduguri to
other parts of Nigeria”
Abubakar Fulata (APC, Jigawa) called for the withdrawal of security personnel
serving in the northeast and their replacement with new personnel, adding that
the long overstay of the security personnel has largely contributed to their
inefficiency as they were tired of remaining there.
Hon. Abdurazaq Namdas said upsurge in attacks by Boko Haram in the north east and increasing insecurity across the country was worrisome but opposed the idea of removing all the personnel currently serving in the area, saying their experience was still needed to assist those that will be sent to work there.
He reminded the House that the Nigerian constitution allows the President to invite the military to intervene in internal security of the nation, but stressed the need to retrain ad equip the police to properly handle internal security in the country.
In his contribution, Francis Waive said the issue of insecurity in the country has gone beyond the issue of one zone, stressing that every Nigerian should be concerned about what is going on in the country.