By Cross Udo, Nathaniel Zacchaeus, and Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives yesterday agreed to support the moves by their counterparts in the Senate over their moves to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari if he failed to address the insecurity situation in the country within six weeks.
The PDP caucus in the red chamber had on Wednesday, shortly before the Senate adjourned plenary to September 20, asked Buhari to end insecurity in Nigeria within six weeks or risk impeachment.
Senate Minority Leader, Phillip Aduda, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, briefed journalists after the joint closed-door meeting.
They said the collection of signatures across party lines would be taken at the two chambers in September if Buhari failed to tackle insecurity before the expiration of their ultimatum.
Aduda explained that the plan to sack Buhari if he failed to honour their demands, was not the idea of the minority caucus in the Senate, but a resolution taken by the entire senators at the closed session held on Wednesday.
He said, “Indeed, all of you are aware of what happened yesterday, and we felt that there was a need to be on the same page with the members of the House of Representatives.
“Our actions yesterday were spontaneous from the issues that were raised on the floor of the Senate. I am sure that members of the press must have interacted with our various colleagues to know that this issue is not just about the PDP caucus but it is a bipartisan issue.
“We all agreed that the security architecture is failing, and there is a need to salvage it immediately. And we also agreed that we must issue an impeachment notice to the President because the primary responsibility of the government is the protection of the lives of the citizens.
“We have called the caucus in the House of Representatives so that we can discuss with them so that they can hear from us and understand what we did yesterday.”
But speaking on the latest development, Elumelu told journalists that his colleagues in the Green Chambers would start collecting signatures as soon as the ultimatum expired without improvement in the disturbing security situation in the country.
He said, “They (Senators), have given six weeks for Mr President to address the insecurity that is, of course, affecting this nation, and I want to join on behalf of my colleagues to also say that upon the expiration, we will proffer ways of ensuring that we will gather all the signatures.
“Let me make it clear. Those who are thinking that it is only the issue of PDP or the minority caucus. Many of our colleagues under bipartisanship are affected. Many of them are affected.
“They may not be speaking, but we may be speaking for them. And when the time comes…I heard somebody this morning saying it is a laughable attempt to want to do that.
“Perhaps, when the action starts, the person will find out that it is not a laughable action. It is real, and we will not stand to allow this nation to collapse.
“We think that it is high time the insecurity of this nation was addressed. We also have the issue of oil theft which has risen, now making it difficult for us to earn income from oil revenue.
“These and many others are the reasons we are joining our colleagues in the Senate to ask Mr. President to address the insecurity of this nation within six weeks. Otherwise, we will find the constitutional means to ensure that we serve him an impeachment notice.”
•FG admits security threats as NSA promises new strategies
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday admitted that Nigerians are tired of the current security challenges facing the nation.
The government also said that winning the war against terrorists would depend a lot on all citizens, including the civilian population, who are required to help the efforts of security, intelligence, and armed agencies with useful information.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (retd.) stated this while speaking with newsmen after the National Security Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The NSA said the worsening security situation might result in the citizenry gravitating towards self-help.
He, however, revealed that the government was currently working on new strategies to curtail the worsening insecurity in the country in the coming weeks.
Monguno said the Security Council had agreed on new strategies to curtail the menace, assuring that there would be a renewed momentum against terrorism.
The NSA noted that Nigeria is in a difficult situation, saying the president is aware of the people’s concerns about the growing insecurity.
Monguno, who said yesterday’s meeting, the third in less than a month, was a follow-up on the one held last week, however, said fighting the sort of insecurity facing the country can only be successful when it is confronted with the ‘whole of society approach.
According to him, “This meeting was convened by the president as a continuation of the meeting that took place last week, to discuss the technical issues and the tasks that were given to the various security agencies. The meeting deliberated on all those issues, after the brief by the National Security Adviser, which is usually the procedure.
“Again, the Council has seen it necessary to inform the general public that fighting in this type of asymmetric conflict is a collective effort, it’s not something that should be confined to only the security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies. When we keep saying the whole of society approach, the whole of government approach, to get a whole of nation approach, what it means is that everybody has to partake in this enterprise.
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“We are in a very difficult situation and the Council understands. Mr. President understands people’s concerns about the growing insecurity, but I can assure you that there’s no straight, cut, and dried method of dealing with this thing unless all of us embrace each other. I know people are wary, people are tired, and people are beginning to gravitate to other places for self-help. The truth is that help is rooted in everyone working for the other person.
“The truth is that no country can ever overcome the difficulties of an asymmetric conflict because the enemy of the state is embedded within the population, within the wider society. The local people are indeed averse, they’re scared, they’re worried and there’s no confidence.
“That is understandable. But without their support, without their cooperation in terms of giving information, it makes it very hard for the operational elements.”
Commenting on the reported attack on the Guards’ Brigade earlier in the week, Monguno contended that such an attack could have been averted had the civilian population been supporting the efforts of security agencies with the required information.
He said, “A few days ago, troops of the Guards Brigade were ambushed and decimated. Had there been a collective effort by way of just snippets of information, we might have averted that incident. That is not to say that the responsibility is for those outside the security domain, it’s a collective responsibility”, he said.
He, however, warned the media and the political elite to be sensitive in what they push out to the general public, noting that some media reports have the elements that can aggravate the already volatile situation, even as some comments coming from those considered to be leaders of thought are capable of harming the mood of society.
“Furthermore, the council is also concerned about the nature of media reporting incidents, with regards to insecurity. The media need to understand that certain reports being generated, either the way or how they report, can also aggravate this delicate situation.
“So, the council is urging the media to be very careful in whatever it reports, whatever gets out to the public space can have a debilitating effect on the population.
“Equally, the political elite is also urged to take into account the consequences of utterances, especially from people who have established a reputation, people who are considered leaders of thought, and people who are considered to have some kind of influence in society.
“Whatever goes out may be harmful, not just to the government, if that is the intention, which I doubt may not be a deliberate thing, but at the end of the day, it will affect the wider society”, he said.
The NSA said new strategies would soon be deployed by security agencies to tame the situation.
He said, “Again, the members of the Armed Forces have also made a commitment that in the coming weeks, they’ve already started working on a new strategy to deal with these snippets of violence and they’ve given their word, their commitment to the President that there will be a change in momentum, even though there might be certain institutional limitations, which they face, but they’ve understood the enormity of the responsibilities that they have.”
On the investigations into the attack on the Kuje Medium Custodial Correctional Centre, Monguno said, “Again, Council is in the process of winding up the special investigative panel on the Kuje incident and the idea is to come up with recommendations, hold those who are supposed to be held accountable for their deeds and to ensure that this type of thing never ever happens again in this country.”
The Security Council meeting was attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and the NSA, Monguno.
Also present were the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema; Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi; and the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd.).
Others were the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Awwal Gambo; the Chief of the Air Staff, Air-Marshal Isiaka Amao; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj-Gen. Samuel Adebayo, who were also in attendance.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba Usman; the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, were also present.
•N’ East elders call for Monguno’s replacement
Meanwhile, because of the high level of insecurity in the country, elders from the North Eastern zone of the country have called for the sack of National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen Mohammed Babagana Monguno (retd.)
The elders, operating under the umbrella of North-East Elders for Peace and Development (NEEPD), yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgent national priority, sack the NSA.
They stated that their demand is not a witch-hunt, but a reaction due to his failure to effectively coordinate the intelligence agencies to provide support in curbing the worsening insecurity in the country.
The elders added that, given the escalating security situation across the country, posterity will not be fair to them if they failed to speak up loudly, based on ‘sentiments’.
They added that in times of emergency such as the one Nigeria is presently facing, men and women of good conscience must jettison tribal sentiments and other primordial considerations, while putting on the garb of patriotism, to rescue the country from sliding into a failed state.
They issued their demand in a statement signed by their National Coordinator, Zana Goni, and Dr Hassan Monguno, the Borno State coordinator.
The elders expressed serious worries that the Nigerian state may, inadvertently, be sharing sovereignty with terrorists, whose daring tendencies are now felt in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the NEEPD, last Sunday’s attack on troops of the Guards’ Brigade on patrol operation along the Kubwa-Bwari expressway, just a few weeks after the Kuje prison attack, signposts the failure of the NSA to discharge the duties of his office diligently, and competently, over the years.
Consequently, the elders appealed to President Buhari to drop whatever ‘attachments’ he has for his NSA, and immediately replace him with a more competent and result-oriented person, as the situation in the country today requires an emergency surgical operation, “if we must reclaim our dignity as a sovereign entity”.
“With due respect to our dear President, we make bold to say that the insecurity ravaging the country today can be compared to what is happening in Afghanistan and other war-torn nations of the world battling terrorism and insurgency.
“Mr President, for the sake of posterity and the future of our children, sack the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Mohammed Babagana Monguno (retd.) now,” the elders said in the statement.
