Composition of security architecture: Saraki stems uproar over alleged S’East exclusion

What could have been another heated arguments on the floor of the Senate was on Tuesday averted by a quick Intervention of the the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

Saraki used his administrative fiat to stem deliberation on a motion lamenting the exclusion of the Igbos of the South East Nigeria from composition of the nation’s security architecture.

Senator Victor Umeh (APGA, Anambra Central) had in a motion he sponsored called for an urgent need to appoint a representative of the South East into the National Defence Council and the National Security Council.

He expressed worries that none of the Service Chiefs as appointed to the two councils come from the South East of Nigeria as firmly enshrined in the 1999 Constitution through the Spirit and Principle of Federal Character.

Umeh further expressed concern that “the Defence and Security Advice relayed to the President by members of the Defence and Security Councils (which exclude security officers from the five states that make up the South East of Nigeria) may not likely represent fair and equitable security situation of the South East of Nigeria”.

Claiming that none of the officers from the zone was appointed a service chief by the Buhari administration, he said that this negates the beauty, tenet and cardinal Principle of Democracy which specify inclusiveness, representation, justice and fairness.

He said: “When these ingredients are missing and lacking in any government, it will create a feeling of alienation”.

Umeh made copious constitutional references such as Section 217(3) which says “the composition of the Officers Corps and other Ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria”.

The motion was seconded by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia North) who said he had led a South East Caucus to President Buhari on the issue.

Abaribe said Section 5 (1 A and B) of the 1999 Constitution buttress Umeh’s position, adding that the self-determination of appointment of Service Chiefs is a misapplication of the powers of the President.

He said despite the provisions of the Constitution, “there is a deliberate attempt to exclude certain section of the country from being part of the security architecture of the the country”.

But the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Bala Ibn N’Allah (APC, Kebbi), said though he had no objection to Umeh’s motion, he queried the constitutional interpretation of requests made by the motion.

He said there was an apparent misconstrue of certain statute of the Constitution, stressing that Umeh misunderstood or misinterpreted the constitutional requisition of Section 153(1) (g) of the Constitution allowing the Predident to appoint another person aside service Chiefs as member of the National Defence Council.

He said Section 219 has taken care of the powers of the President as specified in Sections 217 and 218, adding that it may be right for the National Assembly to invoke the section 219.

He said: “Let us not politicise the issue of security on a platter of ethnic. We must be extremely careful of the product that comes out of this chamber”.

Senator Barau Jibril (APC, Kano North), who said that the assertion of Senator Umeh is wrong in citing Section 153 of the Constitution, said such claim is misleading.

He said the inclusion of the Foreign Affairs Minister who is from South East in the National Defence Council uphold the satisfaction of Section 153(1)(g).

Jibril, therefore, asked Umeh to apologise for misleading and misguiding the Senate.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki said further argument on the motion would not yield positive results as a consensus cannot be reached.

Technically stepping down the motion, Saraki said, “You cannot argue the point raised in the motion, neither can you argue what is in the Constitution. I take the motion as noted.”