By Christiana Ekpa
House of Representatives, has ventilated its anger and disappoinment over the failure of the heads of relevant government institutions and agencies invited to investigative hearing in relation to the recent airport and train attacks to honour the invitation.
This was just as the Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase questioned
the Head of Service Chiefs for their inabilities to carry out Presidential order given by President Muhammadu Buhari even after the Parliamentary cooperations.
In the words of the Deputy Speaker, “Mr President have given instructions and we have cooperated as a parliament, but we have not seen the results and that’s why we are concerned. All these are excuses. We are not willing, this situation is almost like a blackmail to the government we are loosing our only pride. My colleague just came from his constituency, Giwa, almost 150 people killed” he said in anger .
It will be recalled that sequel to a motion of urgent public importance at the plenary on Tuesday on the attacks, the House reached a resolution to interface with the heads of the agencies to find lasting solutions to the lingering issue of insecurity in the country.
It’s therefore mandated the leadership of the House with its committee on Avaition to handle the assignment.
Those invited included included National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, the Minister of Transport, Aviation Minister, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Service Chiefs, DG DSS, IGP, aviation minister, DG NCAA, MD FAAN, MD NAMA and the GM, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC.
But appearing for the meeting of the ad-hoc committee headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Idris Wase, Wednesday, were the representatives of the heads.
It was only the Managing Director, MD of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mathew Pwajok that came in person.
The representatives however gave one excuse or another as to why their heads were absent when asked by Wase.
For instance, Major- General Akinjobi O. T who represented the Army said his bosses were in a meeting with the President.
“The Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs regret not being here. They are currently in a meeting o the directive of Mr President for the same reason. They have been at it since last night”, he said.
Similarly, the representative of the IGP, DIG Sanusi Lemu also said that the absence of his boss was not deliberate.
“The Nigerian police force and other security agencies are pained by the happenings. We apologize for the absence of our commandants, it’s not really deliberate, it’s because of the importance they attached to the parliament that’s why they asked us to come”, he said.
In his remarks, Wase said he was constrained to postpone the meeting, insisting that the chief accounting officers of the institutions must appear on Thursday.
He regretted that were treating the House with levity, warning that it was no parliament of jokers.
He said “I am a constrained a deputy speaker to continue the meeting because the accounting officers are the ones that are supposed to be here while we give them necessary support. So, we cannot proceed. I am saying with a heavy heart, no matter the assignment our Generals are handling, I believe the parliament requires a listening ear. This is the House of the people. I am saddened.
