After hours of a closed-door meeting with Service Chiefs, the House of Representatives yesterday approved the request of President Goodluck Jonathan for extension of the current state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by another six months.
However, the Senate, which met with the security chiefs on the matter for three hours yesterday, resolved to consult with stakeholders before taking a position on it.
President Jonathan on Tuesday, in a letter entitled: “Re: Extension of the Period for the Proclamation of a State of Emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States,” requested for more time, stressing that in view of the foregoing, it would only be appropriate for the lawmakers to consider and approve the extension.
At Wednesday’s plenary at the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, ruled that members would either vote to approve or reject the request after a debate on the motion.
Yesterday’s voting commenced at exactly 4:52pm and majority of the members voted in favour of the proposal to extend the state of emergency via a voice vote.
Shortly before the voice vote, Hon Tambuwal explained that they had agreed on Wednesday that they would vote on the motion today (yesterday) after proper briefing from the service chiefs.
So, when he put the question forward, most lawmakers supported it.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), we debated on a very robust manner on the proposed extension of the state of emergency in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe and we agreed that after proper briefing, we will vote on the proposal. We have been fully briefed by the Service Chiefs and I will therefore put the question,” Tambuwal stated.
Meanwhile, the House spokesman, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, told journalists after plenary, that they were properly briefed by the service chiefs on the progress report in the North-East.
Mohammed hinted that the House resolved to vote extensively for another six months extension having been assured that it would be used to consolidate previous military efforts to rid the states of insurgents
He also disclosed that the issue of mutiny in Borno State on Wednesday did not feature in their discussion with the service chiefs, saying it was purely a military affair.
Nigerian Pilot recalls that in November 2013, similar request to extend the state of emergency for six months was granted by the House after the expiration of the six months emergency rule earlier declared in the states on May 14, 2013.
At the Senate session, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, presided over the three-hour closed-door meeting on the matter.
The meeting was attended by Air Marshal Alex Badeh (Chief of Defence Staff); Major- General Kenneth Minimah (Chief of Army Staff); Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin (Chief of Naval Staff), Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu (Chief of Air Staff), the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar and the Director, State Security Services, Mr. Ekpeyong Nsah.
Ekweremadu, after the meeting, said the Senators had fruitful deliberations with the Service Chiefs and that the discussion was analysed after they had left.
He said: “As responsible and patriotic Nigerians, we are looking at it from diverse angles to ensure that the security situation in those states improves at the shortest possible time.
“Apart from that, the Senate also agreed to do further consultation with all the necessary stakeholders to ensure that everybody could buy into whatever that is needed to be done to secure those states and defeat insurgency there. This is what transpired at our closed-door session. So by Tuesday, we will continue our deliberation on the state of emergency and insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.”
In an interview with journalists after the plenary, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) maintained the position of the Northern Senators and doubted the possibility of resolving the issue of insurgency in Nigeria in many years to come.
The post Emergency rule: Reps approve, Senate to consult stakeholders appeared first on Nigeria pilot.