Insecurity: Senate Postpones Meeting With Service Chiefs, Security Agencies’ Heads

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate, yesterday, postponed its engagement with the service chiefs and heads of the nation’s security agencies to Tuesday next week.

The development was to accommodate the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; and the Ministers in charge of the Defence and Police Affairs Ministries in the proposed parley.

The Senate had last Tuesday through resolution adopted from collective motion on insecurity, summoned the service chiefs and  heads of security agencies for grilling in plenary.

The planned interface was announced by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, fixed for yesterday and today behind closed session.

However, the Senate in plenary yesterday announced that the interface could not hold because the NSA and the CDS were not part of the military and security chiefs in attendance.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who made the announcement said an apology was received from Ribadu on his absence but that he and the Chief of Defence Staff, must be present at the very important session.

He added that apart from Ribadu and Musa, the Senate had also resolved to include other security heads to the planned meeting.

Those included in the new  session next Tuesday, were the  Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru;  Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Geidam; and the  Minister of State for Police Affairs, Imaan Ibrahim.

Others are, the Minister of Interior, Hon Olubunmi Tunji Ojo;  and the Director General of National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

Akpabio, however, commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoheed Lagbaja; the  Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hassan Abubakar;  the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the Director General of Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, for honouring the Senate’s invitation.