Kenneth Udeh from Abuja


The ongoing meeting between the Senate and the Nation's security Chiefs has exceeded six hours and is still ongoing. At exactly 12: 49pm on Tuesday members of the Red Chambers entered into a closed-door meeting with the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu and the nation’s service chief over the worrying state of security in the country.


As soon as the Senate was called into order by the Deputy Whip of the Senate, Onyekachi Nwebonyi to commence the business of the day the Senate suspended its rules by dissolving into the committee of the whole to permit the service Chiefs and the Ministers into the Chambers of the Senate, Leader of the Senate Opeyemi Bamidele announced that the Senate should move into a closed door session to commence discussions with the service Chiefs over the security matters raised.


At about 7:05pm Senators were sighted moving in and out of the Senate Chambers, while some other Lawmakers made their way to their offices and returned to the Chambers.


Members of the press were also seen hanging around the corridors and walkways of the Senate meeting room awaiting the outcome of the meeting. Security aides and staff of various Lawmakers were also seen sitting on the staircases, while some others aligned by the railings around the Senate meeting room awaiting directives of their respective principals who were also engaged in the meeting.


Outside the Senate building , a large number of security escort vehicles and persons were also cited hanging around pavements and taking short naps inside their vehicles awaiting the end of the meeting.



President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio in a short address before going into the closed session said that the Senators needed to have a private interface with the service Chiefs first before addressing the press due to the sensitivity of the issue.


Shortly after that men of the press and non Lawmakers were asked to vacate the Senate Chambers.



Those in attendance include the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar and the Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla.


Others are the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; the Director General of the State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.


Ministers in attendance include the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.


Before the closed-door session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio apologized for commencing behind schedule.


“I want to thank the service chiefs who were earlier here in the Senate before we adjourned. The only addition is that we now felt that the ministers should also come because they are supervising most of the finances of these security agencies,” Akpabio told them.


“We can talk about security but we also need money to procure equipment and to do a lot of things. Your presence here will give us insights into how funding is being handled to ensure the security of lives and properties.


“The Senate decided to take this option for us to have a session because of the various petitions that we have received from our constituents. As part of our major oversight function, we decided to do this through the Committee of a Whole.”


After addressing the top government officials, the Senate thereafter entered into a closed-door session with them.


Today's Tuesday meeting comes week after the upper chamber invited the security chiefs but postponed it following the absence of the defense chief and the NSA


Although other service chiefs were at the Senate chamber to honour the invite, the chief of defence staff and NSA were conspicuously absent. This necessitated Senator Akpabio to postpone the meeting for Today (Tuesday).


The Senate President said his office received an apology letter from Ribadu for his absence. He, however, expressed displeasure with the absence of Mr Musa, an army general.

https://sunnewsonline.com/senate-security-chiefs-meeting-exceeds-six-hours-still-ongoing/?amp

Nothing meaningful will come out of it...... Until state policing is created.

Exercise in futility...!!

After the meeting they would simply shake hands and the security people would ask for more money and the house members would pad their own alongside the request...money released, shared and all go back to square one to await another meeting schedule...!!!