The Senate Committee Chairman on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, has said the worsening insecurity in the country could end within six months if President Buhari signed the National Commission Against the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment) Bill, 2022.
The Bill is meant to establish the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons and also midwife the establishment and running of the National Task Force of Nigeria (NATFORCE) to Combat Illegal Importation of Goods, Small Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons
It was passed on the floor of the Senate last week, following the consideration of a report by the Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
Akinyelure, who is also the co-sponsor of the bill, while speaking with journalists in Abuja, Sunday, urged Buhari to give accelerated assent to the proposed legislation, without further delay.
“The president owes us a lot of duty to ensure protection of lives and properties. We know he is not a magician but we know that the National Assembly has provided through appropriation all the needed equipment and manpower for the security agencies to work effectively to tackle the issue of insecurity.
“The infrastructure is already in place and the people to be engaged are already in place. The needed legislation that would enable them to swing into action through the National Assembly, has been put in place. We passed the bill to law on July 26, 2022. We are only expecting the assent of the president to make it a law.
“The National Commission Against Proliferation of Light Arms and Ammunition, once assented to by the President, we believe that in the next six months, insecurity will be a thing of the past in the country.
“Over 7,000 young graduates would be recruited by the commission to provide support for the security and military agencies in the country. Nigeria and one other country in Africa had yet to have such law in place and that is why our nation has become a dumping ground for light weapons, which criminals are now using all over the place to attack innocent people, “he maintained.
Akinyelure said the commission when established, would not be funded by the National Assembly through appropriation but with private sector engagement and international donor agencies.
He also urged the President to appoint the right people with the template to drive the running of the commission for the first five years.
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