Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a federal lawmaker representing Edo North Senatorial District, has raised alarm over the lack of concern by the National Assembly on critical developments in the country that the leadership of the Senate should be concerned about, News.ng reports.
Senator Oshiomhole, during plenary in the Red Chamber on Wednesday, questioned why the Senate has not been able to summon the leadership of the Nigerian Army and demand answers as to what led to the withdrawal of military personnel stationed at a school. Shortly after their withdrawal, armed assailants stormed the school and abducted 25 female students, killing two members of staff, while one was able to escape soon after.
Meanwhile, Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, noted that since the incident and after the Senate passed a resolution that the military hierarchy should disclose the officer who ordered the personnel to be withdrawn, the Senate has not received a response from the military.
He said:
“By this I mean to refer to each of those resolutions that we have passed in the past, to ask ourselves as a consequence what specific actions have been taken based on those resolutions.
If past resolutions did not change anything, why should we believe that today’s own will be different? And if today all will not be different, why should we waste our precious time on it? I want to draw your attention, Mr President, to one particular one, because everybody in Nigeria must be accountable, whether you are under arms or you are armless. We all admitted we were shocked about the war kidnapping that took place in Kebbi. And it was reported.
“And the governor of Kebbi State cried aloud that military personnel that were in that particular school were ordered to be withdrawn. And about 40 minutes later, the kidnappers came and cut away about 200, I can’t remember exactly the number of children.
“This Senate, under your leadership, we passed a resolution that the military high command should disclose the name of that officer, the action that had been taken against him, to satisfy us that that action was not willful or that people who are entrusted to protect us, that some of them, have not become part of our problem.
“Mr President, I have always tried to be present in every day that this Senate sits. As I speak, I am not aware that we have gotten a response to that simple inquiry. If the armed forces are not accountable, if we do not carry out due audit and oversight, the resources that we have all been blackmailed to appropriate to protect Nigeria, and we come here lamenting that it is now taking over the country, I think we need to do more than that.”
Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), therefore called for the Senate to carry out a thorough audit of the Nigerian military.
He reiterated that the lawmaking arm of the country deserves responses to questions regarding matters of national importance, such as the insecurity situation in the country.
“We need to carry out security audit: money appropriated, who got what, how was it used. And as he insists, that this Senate is entitled to have a reply to the question we unanimously ask: who withdrew those people for the children to be cut away.
“I associate myself with whatever we feel we can do, but I believe that any time we pass a motion, we’re entitled to know the feedback arising from the response of the appropriate agencies that the motion is directed to,” he noted.
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