The House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled plans to interface with the United States of America Congress and other parliaments across the world with the view to remove all encumbrances in the procurement of arms and ammunition for the effective prosecution of war against terrorism in the country.
This followed the adoption of a motion on the “Need for special intervention in the protracted security situation in Nigeria,” sponsored by Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Monguno at the plenary.
Tribune Online gathered that the motion was a fallout of the high-level meeting held between the leadership of the House and Security Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonnisakin.
Recall that previous efforts made by the Federal Government under former President Goodluck Jonathan to procure arms from South Africa was stalled and funds seized by the South African authorities.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had also paid the sum of $1 billion for procurement of Tucano Warplane which would be delivered by 2020.
Some of the lawmakers who spoke in favour of the motion are Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase; Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu; Hon. Ifeanyi Mommah, and others.
In his lead debate, Hon. Monguno expressed regrets over the unprecedented level of insecurity which had made national security a major issue for the Nigerian government.
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The lawmakers also underscored the need for the House to interface with US Congress and other parliaments with the view to overcoming all regulations that bar Nigeria’s security agencies from purchasing arms and ammunitions from those countries.
Despite the daunting task posed by the security challenges, Hon. Monguno applauded the effort of President Muhammadu Buhari towards curtailing insecurity in Nigeria as well as other measures aimed at deterring or disrupting potential attacks.
According to him, “the House is aware of the interaction of the leadership of the House of Representatives with the security Chiefs on the deteriorating security situation in our country
“The House further appreciates the efforts of the Security agencies in curbing the menace of insecurity despite the challenges they face.
“The House is cognizant of the need for new strategies and expedited action to ensure that insecurity in Nigeria is reduced to the nearest minimum,” he noted.
Sources privy to the closed-door security meeting held on Monday between the leadership of the House and Security Chiefs acknowledged the frustration of the security agencies over untoward affiliation of some of the NGOs with the promoters of the terrorist groups who provided suspicious fund to aid their activities in the region.
In the same vein, the House mandated all relevant Committees to probe the activities of various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the North-East geopolitical zone with the view to unravel their role in aggravating the spate of terrorists otherwise known as Boko Haram.
To this end, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the plenary session referred the motion to the Committees on Army, Defence, Air Force and Police and to report back to the House for further legislative action.