SAN FRANCISCO, June 22, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan on Sunday, met behind closed door at the State House in Abuja.
The Senate President revealed this in a tweet on his official handle where he noted that they discussed the issue of national security among other issues.
Senator Lawan called on the country’s security chiefs to sit up but admitted that the security agencies need more funding as well as manpower to tackle the challenges facing Nigeria.
He said the national assembly has been pushing for more resources for the security agencies, asking them to improve their service to the nation.
“The country is facing very deep and serious security challenges and I have come to discuss with Mr. President what we discussed previously that we should do whatever it takes to improve the security situation in the country,” he told reporters.
“And we believe that the senate and indeed the National Assembly is positively disposed to receiving even supplementary budget purposely to address the fundamental needs of the security agencies of our country.
“So that we are able to empower them, enable them to fight the Boko Haram in the north-east, banditry and other security challenges across the country.
“Secondly, in the senate, we believe we need to provide more resources for recruitment by the security yet agencies army, the navy, air force, police, immigration, the paramilitary generally.
“We need to have more manpower or personnel and this is not something you get on platter of gold. Whoever wants to make an omelette will break an egg.
“Section 14 subsection 2b of the constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria is very categorical and crystal clear, that the purpose of government shall be to provide for security and welfare of the people.
“Therefore, we must, we have no luxury of any option other than to address the security challenges more than any other thing.
“I think we must tell ourselves the truth, that the security situation in the country especially in the northern part of the country, requires that we give much more resources to the security agencies.
“And those who are heading these agencies especially the service chiefs, must sit up, in fact we must have milestones and timelines on how we are going to deal with this, we can’t just go on without any time frame for dealing with these issues.
“If after we provide some support and someone is found short of expectations, he should be shown the way out if he refuses to go.
“Because the lives of Nigerians are so precious and therefore must be more important than any other considerations or sentiments.
“I believe that today, the most essential thing in government is to address the security challenges.”
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