SENATE BACKS JONATHAN ON NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s bid to convoke a national conference got support from the Senate Wednesday. 

  Disclosing the position of the Senate, the Chairman, Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs,  Enyinnaya Abaribe, said that since the proposed conference would protect the nation’s sovereignty, it was in line with the upper chamber’s stance as earlier enunciated by its President, David Mark.

  “The Senate has always canvassed the position that it will welcome a conference where all ethnic nationalities would converge to discuss all critical issues and proffer the very best way that will enhance national unity.  “The Senate’s redline which was aptly factored into the President’s broadcast is the conferment of a sovereign status on the conference”, Abaribe said.

  The Senate spokesman added that “the Senate is happy that it is a conference that will hold with due respect to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. It has always been the Senate’s considered stand that there cannot be two sovereigns at a time.  “The Senate is therefore gratified with the development and sees it as an opportunity to address all of Nigeria’s structural problems that keep agitating the mind of her ethnic nationalities. “The Senate is confident that the conference’s final outcome would go a long way to cement Nigeria’s unity”, he said.

  Besides, the Senate has begun an investigation into the recent killing of about 10 people in Apo. Mark assured Nigerians that nothing would be swept under the carpet in respect of this tragedy. At the opening of the closed-door hearing, Mark urged Nigerians to be more committed to tackling terrorism. He also called for understanding with security agents, who according to him, are exposed to dangers in the course of restoring peace in the country.  At the meeting were the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika; National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd); Director, State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong; Commandant-General, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ade Abolurin, as well as the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Ben Angwe.

  While accepting that human rights should be upheld in the course of security operations, Mark said that no group had the monopoly of human rights.  “People must exercise patience with those boys and girls who are exposed outside there. I accept human rights, I have no problem with human rights but human rights must be for everybody. No group should have a right to kill and then another group cannot even have a right to defend itself.  “I read on the pages of newspapers everyday that if they are terrorists, they should not be killed, they should be arrested and all sorts of things. But when you are out there on the field and you are confronted with the type of situation they face, it is a different ball game.

  “The main reason we hold this hearing is not just because of the outcry, not just because lives have been lost but also to learn some lessons so that those lessons can become useful to us,” he said. According to Mark, the security situation, where one is no longer sure of one’s neighbour is unacceptable and urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in the fight against forces of darkness.

  “You will all agree with me that the current situation in the country is totally unacceptable to all of us. A situation you don’t know who is a terrorist in our midst. Our own brothers and sisters are the ones who are involved. As Nigerians, that is not the way we were brought up. So, we need to tackle it head-on. We must remain very steadfast in our fight against terrorism and the forces of darkness that threaten our people. “Every Nigerian therefore must work hard to make sure that we conclude this exercise of getting terrorism and insurgency out of this country in the earliest possible time.

  “The Apo killing has generated a lot of public utterances and public condemnations. But let me urge that before we engage in the blame game or rash conclusions, let us hear from all sides and let us analyse all the stories we have heard and filter them because if we just go by the rumour, what we read or by public opinion of individuals who have access to the media, we may not get the true stories. I urge that we exercise some form of restraint until we get all the facts that are available”, Mark said.  As responsible representatives of the people, he said, the Senate and indeed the entire National Assembly would ensure that all the facts were provided to ensure justice.  

  “We want witnesses to come and tell us their own side of the story so that we can take the right decisions. We on our part are not going to sweep anything under the carpet. Let me assure you that not a single member sitting here has come with a pre-conceived idea or the belief that this person or that person is right or wrong, we all have an open mind.  “I feel very sorry for our boys and girls in uniform who are in the North-East geo-political zone of the country at the moment. They are confronted on daily basis by the terrorists and insurgents and the type of killings that happen in those areas on daily basis are totally unacceptable. There is no way we can carry on like this.

  “It is an opportunity for me to say that the National Assembly will make every effort to ensure that our armed forces and security agencies are properly funded. This is not cheap; you are not going to be given information free of charge. If our security agents are not properly funded and they are not properly trained, then this war is going to be an endless war. “So, I believe that our role as members of the National Assembly at this time is not just to make laws but to ensure that our security services are properly funded so that we can bring this to a quick end.” The Chairman of the Joint Committee, Mohammed Magoro, pledged the panel’s commitment to a honest, just and a fair hearing.