Following his comments last week on the floor of the National Assembly that about 847 soldiers killed by insurgents were buried in a Military grave in Maiduguri, Borno state, a civil society organisation, Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE), has called on the Senate leadership to strip Senator Ali Ndume of his role as chairman committee on Army.
The CATE said during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, that the comment by Ndume is a dangerous one.
Reacting to the statement by the senator, the national coordinator of CATE, Gabriel Onoja, alleged that the lawmaker was exploiting this sensitive position as the senator representing Borno South senatorial district to the advantage of Boko Haram terrorists.
UNICEF says many under-five children not growing well in Nigeria
Onoja also advised the Senate leadership to stop playing politics with the lives of innocent Nigerians as well as jeopardising the efforts of the gallant troops on the frontline and replace Ndume.
He called on the Senate leadership to assign any other committee to the lawmaker to avoid any form of manipulation due to his position.
Onoja said: “The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) has followed with interest the claims by the chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, as they pertain to the ongoing war against terrorism in the North-East of the country.”
He also said that it is on record that Ndume is yet to open up on his involvement in the kidnap of Chibok girls and Dapchi girls so that Nigerians can appreciate the full extent of his involvement.
“Senator Ndume’s interest in asking for improved funding for the Army is driven by an interest to get his cut of the money that would be so allocated for fighting terrorism, which he plans to achieve by leveraging his position as Senate committee chairman on Army,” Onoja said.
Onoja also alleged that Ndume is beclouded by greed that he gave no thought to how his utterances are helping the terrorists to sow fear in the land.
“CATE is, therefore, demanding that the Senate leadership without delay removes Senator Ali Ndume as Chairman of the Committee on Army based on the reality that he is exploiting the position to the detriment of the nation,” he added.
He also said that: “Senate is welcome to assign him any other such committee that he cannot manipulate to offer tactical support to terrorists.”
Ndume had reportedly alleged that 847 soldiers were buried at a military cemetery in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Ndume said the buried soldiers were those who died as a result of insurgency in the state from 2013 to date.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.