Agitated by the worsening insecurity in the country, the Senate has revealed plans to hold meetings with critical stakeholders in each geo-political zone in order to unearth the root causes of the menace and devise pragmatic measures to restore peace and stability in troubled areas.
The apex legislative Assembly made the revelation in a statement released yesterday in Abuja by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Leader of the Senate. The Senate defended this initiative on the ground that no amount of money invested in infrastructure development would guarantee any tangible outcome if peace and stability are not established in the danger zones.
The Leader of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Adhoc Committee on National Security Summit, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, reeled out the plans at the inaugural meeting of the Committee which was held at National Assembly Complex, Abuja Wednesday.
Part of the statement reads: “Amid grave concerns for security of lives, private assets and public installations nationwide, the Senate had constituted a 20-man committee on the national security summit and equally appointed Bamidele to drive the process and proffer measures for enduring peace.
“At the inaugural meeting on Wednesday, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee canvassed the need to address the country’s security concerns regionally, saying the national summit on security was designed “to ensure that every Nigerian lives and works in peace irrespective of their location and status in life.”
Bamidele further explained that Nigeria “can only be on the path of development and prosperity when peace and unity are guaranteed. Therefore, the committee will work round the clock to come up with far-reaching measures that will bring about peace and stability.”
Providing insight into the country’s security dynamics, the Senate leader noted the ugly trends of banditry and kidnapping in the North-west; terrorism and extremist violence in the North-east; farmers-herders crisis in the North-central; separatism and gang violence in the South-east; environmental conflict and oil theft in the South-south as well as abduction and ritual killing in the South-west.
