The House of Representatives Thursday said its invitation to President Muhamadu Buhari over the nation’s security situation was not intended to ridicule the president and his office.
Spokesman of the House, Benjamin Kalu, who stated this, also said while no date is certain for the president’s appearance yet, it may likely be next week.
Following Saturday’s killing of over 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari in Jere local government area of Borno state, the Lower House, among others, resolved hat President Buhari should brief it on the rising securing challenge in the country.
The motion to that effect was sponsored by all lawmakers representing the state in the Green Chamber.
And as a follow-up, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila visited the president Wednesday after which he told journalists the president had acceded to the lawmakers’ request.
Providing further insight into the invitation, spokesman of the House, Hon. Kalu, said after the engagement, Nigerians should expect to see a lot of changes.
On when the president would appear before the House, he ruled out December 8 because of the National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“So, we are looking at December 10 or December 15. The President has broken the jinx by promising that he would appear before the house.
“In the history of Nigeria, no President has done that, the President is going to sit with us and we will have some time to engage him, nobody is going to intimidate him, it will be like a discussion,” Kalu said.
He said Buhari had shown the willingness to be with the lawmakers, which according to him, had not happened before, adding that Buhari should be lauded for believing in democracy.
Similarly, he commended the leadership of the House for managing the situation at the plenary, adding that such a situation could have degenerated into crisis.
He said the move to suspend plenary on December 2 was to douse tension and ensure that the leadership of the House met to chart the way forward out of the imbroglio.
“The whole House was happy, when it was announced that the president has expressed his desire to honour our invitation. We want to commend Mr. President for believing in democracy”, he said.
The lawmaker also stated that it was an invitation, and not a summon, and that the president was engaged through what he called “back channel diplomacy” by the leadership of the House.
This, he said, was to obtain his commitment to honour the invitation, and is also being allowed to readjust his programmes before a convenient date and time would be fixed.
The lawmaker also assured that it would not take any time long because of the nature of the issue involved.
“The partnership will be in the interest of Nigerians. The invitation is not ridicule our president”, he said, noting that as different arms of government, it is good to compare notes from time to time as issues arise.
“Since we are not summoning, we are inviting. This is a legislative diplomacy, so we cannot say you are summoned to appear on so and so date, and at so and so time. The language of summon is different from invitation”, the House further said, adding that for that reason, the president would communicate the convenient time.
On the widespread call for the president to sack the service chiefs, Kalu assured that the House would also engage Buhari on the issue.
“We are looking for a solution. We are looking for better strategies. We will look at the strengths and the weaknesses of the president and put everything on the table. If failure to sack the service chiefs is one of such weaknesses, we will put at the table, though the president may have his reasons. Nigerians should expect changes after the engagement”, he submitted.
NEF
And for the umpteenth time, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has slammed the All Progressives Congress-led federal government president over rising insecurity across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
The body spoke Thursday through its spokesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed while featuring on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast show of Channels Television, monitored in Abuja.
It said the president lacked empathy and failed to recognise that Nigerians were scared and dying.
They said Buhari was yet to recognise of the enormity of the security challenges facing the country and the citizens.
“I feel sorry for the president, if he does not do anything and we just hear excuses then we are in serious trouble.
“The Presidency does not feel empathy. We don’t see a presidency who recognises the fact that we have serious problems but all we hear is we should pray.
“We are praying that God shows Buhari the way to fix the country. As northerners we are dying and Southerners are being killed.
“Buhari needs to do something serious, we measure him by just one thing and that is ‘What is the outcome of your commitment’ the country has become so dangerous to live in.
“How many have to die before Buhari do something serious?” the NEF spokesman quipped.
Shekarau on Service Chiefs
Also featuring on the programme, a lawmaker and former governor of Kano state, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, said keeping the service chiefs in office is a violation of the law.
He said: “If you are 35 years in service, you must go. In fact, they are not staff of Mr. President, they are the staff of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and there is a rule.”
The former PDP chieftain also spoke on the 2023 presidency and why the South should take its turn.
“The Constitution of Nigeria or the constitution of any of the political parties didn’t say if I am from the North, my running mate must be from the South. It is not written but if today, I am a presidential candidate from Kano and I tell you my running mate is from Bauchi, you will say something is wrong with me.
“The presidency has just been from the North for eight years. Common sense tells us that we should look at the other side, to the southern part of Nigeria. We should recognise the North and the South, this is elementary geography and history,” Shekarau said.
Okorocha speaks
Also, another former governor and lawmaker representing Imo West Senatorial District, Senator Rochas Okorocha, admonished President Buhari to sack all his appointees and hire competent hands.
The lawmaker spoke in Lafia, Nasarawa state during a condolence visit to Governor Abdullahi Sule and the family of the late state chairman of the APC, Mr Phillip Tatari Shekwo, who was abducted and killed by gunmen.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should fire the people he hired to work for the country because they have failed and are not performing in the national assignments assigned them. The killing of people by gunmen should not happen again as it is an insult to the country.
“President Buhari should hire competent hands to develop the country as many countries suffered similar fate before they experienced growth and development,” the lawmaker said.
