The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) on Friday revealed why he called the meeting that the service chiefs snubbed, saying it was because of a serious security crisis in Borno state, the epicenter of Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency.
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“Let me say that as a house and institution, I cannot understate our disappointment at the Service Chiefs that are not here.
“Here we are, we call the Armed Forces coordinated by Chief of Defence Staff who is not here, Service Chiefs being represented by their accountants.
“I am actually at a loss, the absence of the Service Chiefs, the Navy is not represented as far as I am concerned, Air Force is not represented, ditto for the Chief of Army Staff.
“I know one or two of these Service Chiefs were somewhere yesterday night, I can almost say that it showed the disdain for this institution,” Gbajabiamila said.
“I am not sure how to handle this, I do not think this happens anywhere, any parliament in the world, where the head of parliament will call the Service Chiefs for a nagging problem on how to resolve it and will not show.
“I think it is important to postpone this meeting to Monday morning, I will personally see the president myself, because we are supposed to work as one, to work together as a body,” he said.
“I am insulted and I feel insulted that this leadership would make a pronouncement and say ‘come, let us discuss the problem that is affecting our country’ but the same people who are in charge of security, coordinating it; the active officers who are supposed to be on the field are not here.
“I want to say that it should not be tolerated, If this honourable leadership and principal officers will make a call and they cannot attend the meeting, I do not know what they will do to a committee leadership.
“That is why I want to say that this meeting should not hold and they should come unfailingly on Monday, there should be no excuse and there will be no excuse,” he said.
Source: PM News Nigeria
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