Reps pass vote of no confidence on Service Chiefs

• Demand their immediate resignation

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives, for the second time in one month, yesterday passed a vote of no confidence on the Service Chiefs, asking them to resign their appointments with immediate effect.
According to the House, the Service Chiefs have completely run out of new ideas on how to effectively tackle insecurity and eradicate Boko Haram insurgents in the north east.
Peoples Daily reports that, the House had about a month ago reached a resolution , asking the top military Chiefs to either resign or be sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed them.
The Lawmakers’ latest demand followed a motion moved Hon. Yusuf Buba from Adamawa State under “Matters of Urgent Public Importance” at Tuesday plenary.
The motion titled “The Motion of Urgent National Importance on the need for the Federal Government to provide adequate security, reconstruction and relief materials to parts of my constituency attacked by insurgents and for the Nigerian army to review strategy on its current campaign against terrorism”.
Buba raised the motion on the heels of the recent attacks and burning of churches in Garkida community in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
He decried the escalated security situation that had continued to claim innocent lives and property of the people without a corresponding resistance from the security agencies.
He said: “The House notes that in the recent weeks there has been a series of upsurge in the activities of Boko Haram insurgents across many parts of the northern zone which has since 2010 continued to witness incessant attacks by the group. It is easy to recall that in the last few weeks, the attacks in Auno in Borno State and Garkida in Adamawa State, including others that are not reported, have left the world asking questions that remained unanswered.
“These attacks coming ferociously after a time the insurgents were said to have been highly degraded, to say the least, have left our people in even more grave danger and have left our homes, business premises, places of worship, farms and above all lives at the mercy of the insurgents.
“The House is concerned that if nothing urgent is done to increase the number of our soldiers by way of massive recruitment, the number of our men in the theatres of conflict sadly will continue to decrease and their morale will drop considerably while our nation may have a sad recourse back to pre-2015. God forbid.”
Supporting the motion, some members expressed regret, saying that the service chiefs have become docile and obviously can’t solve the problem.
They therefore demanded their immediate resignation.
In his contribution, Hon. Sarki Ader from Sokoto State said that the sorry situation should naturally invoke shame on the service chiefs and the National Security Adviser, NSA who could not stop the attacks.
He said: “It is a shame on the service chiefs and National Security Adviser. We invited them here about three times. They told us they are on top of the situation but as it is today, they are not on top of anything.
“It a shame on the service chiefs. We should not be afraid of anything. They should resign and give a chance to other vibrant and tested soldiers. The Service Chiefs and Security adviser should go…. Hon, colleagues, please, support this motion and let them go.”
Also contributing, Hon. Nyampa Zakaria from Michika Federal Constituency, Adamawa State said that a more drastic action needed to be taken to arrest the attacks.
“Mr. Speaker, this country is in danger. We know that there is insecurity. Nothing has been done by the Nigerian army. If there is no security of lives and property, we cannot be comfortable here. Mr. Speaker, we must find a way of solving this problem. Let’s do something and let’s do it urgently”, he said.
On his part, Hon. Ahmed Jaha from Borno State said that the service chiefs have completely run out of ideas.
“You must not live in your comfort zone while your constituents are dying. For how long shall we be repelling attacks in this country? My people voted for me under duress because they had been sending messages of attacks.
“These insurgents came in with 11 brand new Hilux vans. I called the security outfit, they said they are waiting for them to come so that they can repel them. Garkida is less than 15km away from my constituency. You are waiting for them to come? How long shall we continue to repel attacks?
“Hon. Members, the service chiefs are out of ideas completely. We know this. Mr. Speaker, it is better to do something to save Nigerians. As far as I am concerned, our people are dying and I am not comfortable with that”, he said.
Similarly, Hon. Karu Simon Elisha from Balanga federal constituency of Gombe State joined his colleagues in the resignation call of the service chiefs.
While adopting the motion, the House also asked the government to urgently commence mass recruitment of Nigerians into the military even as the members asked the National Emergency Management Agency and the North East Development Commission to send relief materials to the victims of the attacks in Garkida in Adamawa State and Auno in Borno State.