Insecurity: Why Buhari declined previous House summons

Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Ben Kalu, has opened up on why President Muhamadu Buhari refused to honor past invitation to speak on the state of the nation by the National Assembly

He told newsmen that the President had been invited severally but would not honor summons because those who asked  him to come, did not only held on to his budget but were always in disagreement with him

“So many times he was summoned but did not turn up because he was invited by those who were in warfare with him”, the Chairman House Committee on Media and Publicity said.

Kalu explained that the lawmakers of the (8th Assembly) who summoned him previously, had held the President’s budget for up to six months and you still expect him to honour their invitations?.

“You want him to answer questions on issues he supposed to use the money that you’re supposed to appropriate, when you’re holding the money and you’re inviting him. But this Assembly has not held the budget of Mr President, we have given Mr President his budget in good time, so he has no reason not to oblige the request of the Nigerian people.

Still dwelling on the invitation and the worsening state of Insecurity in the country, especially the killing of 43 Borno farmers, the spokesperson of the House, explained that last weekend killing of 43 farmers in Borno was not as important as the declaration of a state of emergency on security.

Recall that at Tuesday’s plenary, the House invited Buhari over the killings after it passed a resolution on  a motion on the : “Urgent Need to condemn and investigate the insane killing of unarmed Farmers in Jere Local Government of Borno State, sponsored by members of the House from the State.

Kalu disclosed further that the House also backed  the President  to declare state of emergency so as to be able to use other sources and mechanisms to solve the security problem of the country.

“Unless there’s a declaration of state of emergency on security, Mr President’s hand will be tied to do what the former president Jonathan did, which was asking for external help and bringing in external help, the mercenaries and the rest of them to make sure we fight to clear the issue of security.

“The constitution will not allow Mr President to act in this direction and that was why through legislative intervention, to tell you that resolutions are not dramas, they are the open doors, that invites the executive to formulate policies and take positions that will help them achieve the desires of Nigerians.

“Nigerians should be proud that we’ve tied our resolutions with that of the northern governors who have asked that a state of emergency be declared on security and that’s the wishes of most of the northern state governors”.

“We are looking at solutions, if he visits us and we interact with him, the question you will ask me is after the visit of Mr President, what next. Ok he walks through the door and we interact with him, has that stopped the killing in the North? No. He will come but beyond the coming of Mr President what we’re saying today is that the House has equipped Mr President with the mandate to declare a state of emergency on security”, the lawmaker said.

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