By Deji Elumoye
The leadership of the Senate will this week meet with President Muhammadu Buhari over the myriad of security challenges facing the nation.
The Senate had at last Tuesday’s plenary mandated its leadership to rub minds with President Buhari on a possible solution to the mounting security problems facing the country.
Sources told THISDAY that the leadership of the upper legislative chamber has gotten across to the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari to get a possible date to see President Buhari.
It was gathered that the meeting would have been fixed for Monday but for the public holiday declared by the federal government to mark this year’s Workers’ Day which informed why it had to be pushed forward to later this week.
The meeting, according to sources, will hold at short notice “and it may be on Tuesday or any other day but definitely this week”.
Those to accompany the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan to the closed-door meeting with the President at the State House, Abuja, include the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abubakar and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe.
Lawan will at the meeting formally present to President Buhari the upper chamber’s resolution on the need for the Executive to take urgent steps to end the security skirmishes across the country.
The Senate had last Tuesday expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation of the country, and mandated its leaders to meet with President Buhari to discuss the issue and proffer lasting solutions.
The Senators decision was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance, titled, ‘Need for federal government to deploy troops and other security apparatus to immediately bring an end to the menace of insurgency and terrorism in Niger state and other parts of Nigeria,’ moved by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East).
Moving the motion, Musa lamented that the activities of bandits and Boko Haram terrorists in Niger state has taken a dangerous dimension
He recalled that the Senate have made several resolutions, set up Ad-hoc Committee on Security, and declared every support at bringing an end to the persistent insecurity in our nation, yet insecurity has continued to elude the nation.
These repeated attacks, according to him, are taking place amid an absence of slightest hindrance, resistance, or confrontation from the authorities concerned.
Musa called for a total review of the nation’s security architecture, adding that if this menace is not drastically addressed, the attacks will continue and the danger is that they may escalate further to other communities.
According to him, for almost seven years Niger East Senatorial District has come under constant and sustained multiple deadly attacks by heartless and venomous Boko Haram terrorists who are always heavily armed with assorted sophisticated and dangerous weapons unleashing their horror on the innocent populace.
He noted that about 42 communities across the two local government areas of Shiroro and Munya Local Government have so far fallen under the Boko Haram control with about 5,000 villagers already displaced in the last three days.
