Senate

  The Senate on Tuesday resolved to hold a two-day national security summit to brainstorm a solution to the rising wave of killings and other forms of insecurity in the country. The decision followed a motion sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo South, at the resumption of plenary on Tuesday. While on a working visit to France, bandits in a senseless campaign of violence killed innocent Nigerians in Plateau, Benue and Zamfara states, culminating in calls for President Bola Tinubu to cut short his vacation to return home to lead the fight against insecurity from the front. Leading the debate, Ibrahim said the “high level” of global insecurity is driven by events in Russia and Ukraine and compounded by tensions between the global north and global south. According to him, the issues have continuously worsened food insecurity and affected the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The former Ondo governorship aspirant emphasised that the ongoing trade tariff war in America and the growing emphasis on the balance of power in global affairs are gradually giving way to a new world order. “This new order reflects in immigration policies, visa cancellations by new regimes, and countries raising funds by selling citizenship — all of which fuel economic conflict and undermine globalisation pursued over the last sixty years,” he said. Continuing, Ibrahim said Nigeria must clarify its strategic engagement in international affairs, noting that the Senate has a role in advising the executive to maximise national interest. “The next world war may not even require the fanfare of militarism. The incredible growing economic war is gaining ground with destructive innovation in security globally. “There is a need for alternative language in military engagement as well as enhanced funding to advance the professional practices and respected tradition of the future military,” he stated. He therefore called for an “empirical fact-finding national security summit” to help develop far-reaching solutions. The senator representing Katsina South, Mohammed Dandutse, seconded the motion, saying the lack of intelligence sharing among security agencies was a major setback. He said, “Nigeria is blessed, we have no other country except Nigeria. We have to face these criminals squarely. No country succeeds except with peace and security. “The security agencies are given funding. So there is a need for the judicious spending of these resources.” The senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe and the senator representing Kebbi Central, Adamu Aliero, however, disagreed with the move. Both lawmakers argued that a security summit may not be the solution. The senator representing Benue North-West, Titus Zam and the Senate minority leader, Abba Moro, countered their view by backing the motion. At the end, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the motion to a voice vote, and the majority of senators voted in favour of the summit. Akpabio, however, proposed that the summit should last for two days instead of the three days proposed by Ibrahim. The Senate subsequently resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to organise the two-day national security summit in Abuja. The event will include delegates from all levels of government, as well as traditional institutions. The Red Chamber also urged the federal government to review and rejig the country’s security policies based on outcomes from the summit. Punch