Zulum: Reps insist on removal of service chiefs

Members of the House of Representatives have condemned the recent attack on the convoy of Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, insisting that service chiefs should resign or be sacked. Those who made the call include the minority caucus and members from Southern Kaduna, where armed herdsmen and militias are wreaking havoc. The minority caucus said it was alarmed by the attack on Zulum, saying the sad event had again reinforced the urgent need to review the country’s security architecture.

The Minority Leader of the House, Mr Ndudi Elumelu, in a statement on Friday, titled ‘Attack on Governor Zulum: Reps Caucus Restates Call for Sack of Service Chiefs,’ urged the Presidency to implement the recent resolution of both chambers of the National Assembly, asking the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), to sack the service chiefs.

The Senate had on July 21, 2020, asked the service chiefs to step down, following the killings of soldiers fighting insurgency and banditry in parts of northern Nigeria. But the Presidency disagreed, saying it was the prerogative of the President to appoint and sack service chiefs.

Elumelu, in the statement, noted that the attack on the governor and other dastardly activities of insurgents in various parts of the country have further reinforced the urgent need to inject new hands with fresh ideas to handle the nation’s security architecture. The minority leader said, “The worsening security situation in the country under the current service chiefs has reached an unbearable state, to the extent that insurgents have the temerity to attack an armed convoy of a state governor.

“We, the opposition lawmakers, hereby, in the strongest terms restate the call to President Muhammadu Buhari to honour the resolution of the National Assembly and immediately remove the service chiefs and bring in new hands to effectively confront the security challenges confronting our nation.”