Service Chiefs, and IGP Appear Before the House For Security Debate

The security chiefs - Christopher Musa (chief of defence staff), Taoreed Lagbaja (chief of army staff), Emmanuel Ogalla (chief of naval staff), Hassan Abubakar (chief of air staff), and Kayode Egbetokun (inspector-general of police) are currently at the house of representatives.

Reports say, the House of Representatives last week Thursday, 16-11-2023 invited Service Chiefs but couldn't appear before the House for presentations, but rather sent representatives which Lawmakers rejected.

Service Chiefs were invited for the commencement of a policy brief series aimed at redefining the concept of governance in the country.

They finally appeared and were ushered into the green chamber of the House for “Sectoral debate” which is said to be part of initiatives by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas -led House to improve its constitutional oversight of the executive arm of government, in line with the Legislative Agenda for the 10th Assembly.

The session is to be held behind closed doors.

Speaking at the commencement of the briefing, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Chris Musa said they were not able to honour the initial invitation because they were out of Abuja.

He said: “We were out of Abuja and felt that since an invitation has been extended, our Chief of Operations should attend. It was not deliberate and we apologized for that and thank you for the opportunity for us to interact with you.”

Before the executive session, the service chiefs and IGP took turns outlining the various efforts being made to address the security situation in the country.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, requested that the National Assembly intervene in enhancing surveillance to cover the backwaters, creeks, and other areas behind the coastline.

According to him, if this is done, oil theft, pipeline vandalization, and illegal refining will be monitored 24 hours a day.