Service Chiefs and Inspector – General of Police , Alkali Baba Usman , have assured the Senate that the challenges of insecurity bedeviling Nigeria , will soon be things of the past.
The Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff , General Leo Irabor and heads of other National Security Agencies like the Department of State Security ( DSS) , National Intelligence Agency ( NIA) , gave the assurance during situation report interface they had with the Senate on Thursday.
After the interface which lasted for about four hours behind closed doors , the President of the Senate , Ahmad Lawan said submissions made by the Security Chiefs , show that the problems are being confronted headlong by them
“At the closed door session the Senate had with the Service Chiefs , desire , design and determination of the various security agencies in addressing the security situation, were explained to the satisfaction of all Senators around.
“Challenges confronting them were also tabled as well as required interventions needed,” he said.
The President of the Senate had earlier before the closed door session with the Service Chiefs , lamented that though the security agencies are doing their best in containing the security situation in the country but optimal results have not been achieved due to inadequate resources.
“You are doing your best in providing security for Nigeria and Nigerians in an extremely difficult situation, the very reason this Parliament is ever ready to make the necessary interventions required.
“The Senate and by extension, the National Assembly, is ready to give expeditious consideration to whatever supplementary budget is presented by the executive in this regards because the environment must be stabilised for Nigeria to be a hub of foreign and local investments ” , he said .
Shedding more lights on what transpired at the closed door session at a media briefing , the Senate Spokesperson , Senator Ajibola Basiru ( APC Osun Central), said, “After listening to the briefings, I personally became upbeat that a lot of work had gone into addressing the problem of insecurity and from the various perspectives that were brought into the discussion which is very frank, clear and without any form of duplicity, it became very clear that Nigerian security agencies are not only looking at the internal dimension of the challenge we have, we look at all ramifications both in terms of the political context, economic context and international context to the development.
“There were even perspectives as to what happened recently in Chad was also considered. So it is a very thorough discussion and I also believe that the forthrightness of the leadership of the security agencies showed the seriousness that they attached to that exercise.
“So, I believe that going forward, the confidence has been built between the security chiefs on one hand and the Nigerian parliament on the other hand and that would be a good signal of what we expect in the future.”
