Nigeria In Distress: House Of Reps Asks Service Chiefs To Resign

Members of the House of Representatives have called on the service chiefs to resign their positions.

This formed part of the resolutions reached after the lawmakers had a debate on the nation’s security during Wednesday’s plenary in Abuja.

A member of the House, Abubakar Fulata, had informed his colleagues in the chamber that the service chiefs had outlived their usefulness.

According to him, it will be to the detriment of the country if these men keep doing the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result in tackling the security challenges Nigeria is grappling with.

The lawmaker stressed the need for the service chiefs to resign since President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to sack them.

He also called for the redeployment of soldiers serving in various theatres of war in the North-East region of the country.

The military personnel, Fulata noted, have stayed too long at the war front and were exhausted.

He added that the soldiers should be replaced to improve the onslaught against insurgents in the region.

Presiding over the plenary, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila put the question, as moved by Fulata, to the lawmakers whether the service chiefs should resign and leave their offices.

Although there was a divide among the members in their response, a majority of the lawmakers answered in the affirmative and the resolution was passed.

While the performance of the service chiefs became a focus at the House chamber, national security formed a major discussion in the Senate.

Like the green chamber, the red chamber asked President Buhari to declare a national security emergency.

Some lawmakers – Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, as well as Senators Musa Sani, Betty Apiafi, and Solomon Adeola, asked the President to sack the service chiefs.

They also called for the resignation of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.

The service chiefs include the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ekwe Ibas.

– Channelstv