The House of Representatives will today resume plenary amid tight security to consider President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to extend emergency rule by another six months in the three North-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, which have been worst hit by Boko Haram attacks.
This is just as the Senate’s executive session on the request by the president again ended in a stalemate yesterday, as the upper chamber failed to reach a consensus on the issue, but it resolved to summon the service chiefs to appear before it today to provide more information on the war against the insurgency.
The president had in a letter addressed to the Senate President David Mark on Tuesday, sought the Senate’s approval for the extension of emergency rule in the affected states for the third time, saying the extension had become compelling in view of the protracted activities of terrorists in the troubled three North-east states.
He therefore implored the senators to expeditiously approve the planned extension of the emergency rule.
Following the request, the Senate on Tuesday dissolved into an executive session but failed to come up with a resolution as senators from the North vehemently opposed the proposed extension, arguing that emergency rule had done them more harm than good.
The stalemate continued yesterday as the meeting witnessed the northern senators refusing to shift ground, thus stalling the Senate’s attempt to pass a resolution on the request.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Senate spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, confirmed that the meeting was characterised by considerable acrimony, forcing the senators to resolve to continue deliberation on the request today.
According to Abaribe, who said the meeting was frank and robust, the Senate would pass a resolution at the end of today’s meeting no matter how herculean.
He also disclosed that yesterday’s meeting resolved to invite the service chiefs to join them in today’s meeting with a view to providing them with information on the state of emergency rule so far, adding that the senate president would also interact with the governors of the affected states to hear their views on the request.
He said: “The Senate on Wednesday the 19th of November, went into another closed-door session to consider the request of Mr. President for an extension of the state of emergency in the three states that will elapse maybe by tomorrow.
“The discussion, like we had earlier said, was very frank, robust and sometimes very acrimonious which is usual in political discussions. And we agreed as a Senate that the discussion will continue tomorrow.

“Also, for the purpose of getting further information, we will invite the service chiefs to be available tomorrow (today) to also brief us on the efforts that have been ongoing in the past six months when the emergency was declared.
“To that effect, we have adjourned to tomorrow (today) and we will also consider the information that we will also get from the service chiefs and further information that will be available to us from the governors of the states that are going to be contacted by the senate president.
“We hope we will take a decision tomorrow in the interest of this country.”
He dismissed as “utter rubbish” insinuations that the senators were induced with money to get the president’s request for the extension approved, saying if there was any such thing, “maybe we would not have also continued to have this discussion. The mere fact that the discussion is still going on should tell you that there is no such thing.”
Opponents of the extension also dismissed the allegation, saying there was no such inducement in consideration of the request.

Security Beefed up at N’Assembly

But as the senators bickered over the president’s request, the security agencies yesterday beefed up security within the precinct of the National Assembly ahead of resumption of plenary by the House of Representatives today to consider the request for the extension of emergency rule.
Speaking on the security cordon, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Assembly’s Sergeant-at-Arms said they were poised to tackle any unforeseen security breach.
A senior officer of the DSS attached to the National Assembly told newsmen that “the DSS is here to ensure order and security of lives and property. We are ready to ensure that parliamentary activities tomorrow (today) go on safely and are hitch-free”.
He however declined to comment on whether the same security cover would be extended to the House Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, stating: “I am not permitted to speak on that.”
The mace, it was also gathered, was smuggled out of the National Assembly, for fear that it could fall into the “wrong hands”.
But the National Assembly’s acting Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Ibrahim Ndako, dismissed the claim regarding the mace as a “rumour”, saying he was in possession of the mace, which is under lock and key.

Gaidam Seeks Community Involvement

In a related development, the Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, yesterday said the extension of emergency rule in the three affected states might count for nothing unless the federal government changes its strategy and partners local communities and their leadership in the affected areas.
In a statement by his spokesman, Abdullahi Bego, the governor said: “Over the past 18 months when the emergency rule was declared by Mr. President, it has been renewed twice.
“After the first one, I approached the extension with caution, always emphasising on the need for an all-hands-on-deck approach where the military troops on the ground are sufficiently kitted by the federal government and people across the affected states pitching in to do their part through vigilance, community surveillance and by helping the security forces in every way possible to defeat the criminals and insurgents who are wreaking havoc to this day.”
In his assessment, Gaidam said emergency rule had failed, insisting that it “failed to roll back and contain the disaster that is Boko Haram. Only 10 days ago, our very young students full of hope for the future at Government Science Technical College (GSTC) Potiskum were killed in a very evil and grotesque manner.
“And there were many others before them in four schools across our state and in communities across the affected states”.
He said: “The presence of military troops on the ground is absolutely necessary but not sufficient to take the war to the insurgents and to defeat them.
“There are other vital ingredients which must feature now if the current extension is to enjoy any success at all.”
The ingredients to winning the war, according to him, is to provide every weaponry and military gear that the hard working troops on the ground need.
Secondly, he said: “The federal government also needs to adopt or build on an approach that addresses ongoing security challenges from the bottom up.
“That means actively partnering with local communities and community leaders to get them to enrol more actively in the fight to restore peace and security.”
Gaidam said the federal government could do this by providing more support to the affected and distraught communities than is currently the case. “With more support to the people who have been displaced or who have lost limbs, livelihoods or loved ones to the criminal activities of the insurgents, it’s more likely that people will participate more actively going forward.”
The governor also advised the federal government to invest more in education and infrastructure in the North-east as a special measure to help the people recover.
He said: “There is no question that the affected states are doing their best in so many ways under very difficult circumstances but the federal government can help accelerate the process by intervening in road construction, rebuilding and re-equipping of schools, and by setting up regional skill hubs where young people and women would get the training they need to support themselves and their families.”
He added that given the overwhelming presence of insurgents in border areas, the federal government should take multilateral relationship with the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroun to a new level by getting them to more actively support our fight for peace and security.
Gaidam stressed that when pursued “with more energy, these and other measures have the potential to help us defeat all the criminals and insurgents out there who are bent on destroying us all”.

Troops, Hunters Recover Hong, Gombi, Pelia

Meanwhile, the Nigerian troops, in collaboration with local hunters, have recovered more lost territories in Adamawa State, including Gombi, Hong and Pelia Local Government Areas, which were overrun by Boko Haram insurgents last week.
Intelligence sources said Adamawa, which has been given top priority status, has benefitted from the reinforcement of troops owing to the redeployment of Special Forces – the Strike Force – originally meant for Borno State, to Adamawa.
“The priority now is to save Adamawa from these terrorists. So the Strike Force that just arrived from Jaji has been sent to Adamawa. You know this is the home state of the CDS, and since the recovery of Mubi the military will have to maintain the momentum.
“Every other thing including the planned onslaught against the terrorist enclave of Sambisa forest will follow,” the source said.
To this end, the troops were reported to have taken full control of Gombi, Pelia and Hong.
This was also confirmed by the Defence Headquarters through a short statement on its twitter handle announcing the recapture of the towns and communities.
The military authorities further revealed that “more weapons and equipment are also being recovered while the mop-up exercise is ongoing in the areas”.
A security source also disclosed that about four days ago, the military was making frantic efforts to recapture the three towns under the control of the Islamic sect, adding that the troops secured victory yesterday when they overwhelmed the insurgents in a fierce battle.
He said the gun battle between the Nigerian troops and the insurgents lasted for four days, resulting in the death of more than 400 insurgents while so many others were arrested.
He further revealed that there were several casualties among the troops, including the Brigade Commander, Col. Popoola, who sustained injuries.
“The Nigerian troops are now in full control of Gombi, Hong and Pelia towns and more than 400 insurgents were killed in a battle that lasted for four days and several of them have been arrested.
“A lot of weapons and equipment were also recovered from the insurgents. However a top-ranking officer was seriously injured while a few soldier, lost their lives in the battle,” he said.
In order to safeguard lives and property in the affected areas, the Adamawa State Government yesterday restricted movement in the three local governments to protect residents from being caught in the crossfire between the insurgents and the Nigerian troops.
Director of Press in Adamawa Government House, Mr. P.P Elisha, said the state Governor Bala Ngilari took the decision to protect residents and innocent motorists in the local government areas

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