The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) has
faulted the Tuesday’s call by the National Assembly for the sack or resignation
of the Service Chiefs.
The Senators made the call during plenary on Tuesday in
reaction to a motion by Senator Ali Ndume.
Senator Ndume moved his motion as a result of the recent
ambush of soldiers in Katsina and the alleged voluntary resignation of many
soldiers.
Reacting to the call, President Muhammadu Buhari in a
statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu said it is only the President that can
sack Service Chiefs and no one else.
However, CATE said the Senate erred by making such a call at
this critical time when the Nigerian troops are sweating it out on the
battlefield to clear the remnants of terrorists from the shores of the nation.
Gabriel Onoja, National Coordinator of the group said the
Senate has never shown commitment to support the efforts of the military
leaders and President Buhari in fighting terrorism and other crimes in the
country.
The statement reads. “The Coalition Against Terrorism (CATE)
is totally disappointed with the decision by the Senate of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria to side with terrorists and bandits with its call on the Service
Chiefs of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to resign. The Senate erred in this
misguided resolution just as it has been erring in the performance of its
duties.
“Our disappointment is not in any way mitigated by the
knowledge that the lawmakers have a history of pursuing agenda that are at
variance with the yearnings of the constituents and that the oversight powers
bestowed on them by the Constitution has consistently been abused in pursuit of
lining their individual pockets.
“It nonetheless appalling that the Senate did not even avail
itself the face-saving measure of shopping for a unicorn by having a credible
member of the Red Chamber to move the motion on something as important but
relied on Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno south and chairman of the
committee on army, who has not satisfactorily proven that he is not part of
Nigeria’s Boko Haram problem.
“The lawmakers worsened the situation by adopting
resolutions whose import they understand even less than they understood the
dynamics fueling Nigeria’s security breaches and the efforts that military
leaders under President Muhammadu Buhari have made to curtail them.
“They have by their cavalier attitude sent the message to
terrorists, bandits and criminals that they have the support of the Senate
against the gallant officers and men that have been toiling to defeat terrorism
and stamp out insecurity. They have also told the enemies of Nigeria that they
have the approval stamp of the National Assembly.
“To have set the war on terrorism back on the scale the
Senate has done unfair to all concerned. They are unfair to President Buhari.
They are unfair to General Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Defence staff; Lt.
General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff; Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar,
Chief of Air Staff; and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff.
“The Senate has never shown commitment to support the
efforts of these military leaders and President Buhari in fighting terrorism
and other crimes in the country. This latest outing by the Senate is a clear
indication that whilst the President and the Service Chiefs are working day and
night to address the insecurity in its multiple facets, the Senate prefers to
play politics with the lives of the citizens.
“The lawmakers failed woefully in crafting and amending
anti-terrorism legislation that has been sorely needed to defeat terrorism,
which consequently left the military to be overstretched and compelled to fight
the terrorist with only strategy and military might. We are therefore wondering
when the Senators will resign their positions for having failed to exert
international pressure on countries that have been fueling terrorism in and
around Nigeria by covertly funding and supporting Boko Haram.
“We demand to know when the Senators will resign for
sabotaging the anti-terrorism efforts through delayed budget consideration and
approval, distracting the Armed Forces with pointless inquisitions that are in
reality bare faced attempt to extort those invited to appear. They should
accept responsibility for keeping the country’s teeming youth in deprivation
and poverty that are the main drivers of the insecurity in the land rather than
trying to offload the blame for the problems in the land on principled men that
cleaning the mess created by the likes of the politicians in parliament.
“CATE calls on the Service Chiefs to disregard the drama
from the Senate and focus on carrying out the assignment given to them by
President Buhari.”
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