The Senate and the House of Representatives will hold a joint session to mark Democracy Day on June 12, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has disclosed during plenary on Wednesday shortly before the red chamber adjourned plenary sitting till Tuesday June 17.
Akpabio urged all senators to attend the joint session, saying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has graciously agreed to attend the session.
The red chamber subsequently adjourned plenary to June 17 to enable the senators to celebrate the forthcoming Sallah with their families and constituents.
This is just as the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, commended President Bola Tinubu’s performance on the second anniversary of his administration, saying the country is on the path to prosperity.
Barau, in a statement to commemorate the government’s second anniversary, signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, said President Tinubu has laid the foundation for the restoration of the country’s glorious days.
He said: “I join all Nigerians and admirers around the world in congratulating His Excellency, the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on the occasion of the second anniversary of this government.
“The country in the past 24 months under the able leadership of President Tinubu, the visionary leader of our time, has been repositioned. Of course, he inherited a lot of challenges. But he has come up with programs and policies to surmount these challenges.
“We’ve seen how he has genuinely dealt with our twin main challenges: security and economy. We know we are not where we want to be, but the journey has started. It’s a work in progress. Mr. President is working hard, day in and day out, to surmount the insecurity challenge.
“Hundreds of terrorists have been neutralised, especially in the North West geopolitical zone. Most areas that have been tagged as no-go areas have been recovered. The instances of incessant kidnapping on the Abuja/Kaduna Road have become history.
“In the Southeast, the activities of unknown gunmen terrorising the region have been on the downward slide. Boko Haram was almost completely eradicated until the recent attacks coming from the terrorist group in some parts of Borno State.”
He expressed optimism that the establishment of development commissions in the North West, North Central, South East, South West, and South-South would accelerate the development of the country’s nooks and crannies.
Earlier at plenary on Wednesday the Senate lamented the resurgence of insecurity in some parts of northern Nigeria.
The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Sunday Karimi, told his colleagues that no fewer than 30 persons were kidnapped in Kogi-West Senatorial District of Kogi State in the last seven days amid the crippling security challenges in the country.
The attacks were reported while Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the Obalohun of Okoloke in Yagba-West Local Government Area of the state, who was abducted on May 15, had yet-to-be-released.
The Chairman, Senate Services, Sen. Steve Karimi, made the disclosure as the Senate debated yet another motion on farmer-herder conflicts in Munga Lelau, Maigami, in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, which reportedly claimed many lives.
Contributing to the motion, Karimi said insecurity had become a daily challenge in the country, blaming it on “disgruntled elements” bent on making the achievements of the administration of President Bola Tinubu “appear weak.”
He noted: “Disgruntled elements are collaborating with these people to cause problems everywhere in the country. In the last one week, up to 30 persons were kidnapped in Kogi-West alone.
“We can’t allow disgruntled elements to pull the country down because of their interest.
“This is looking like a repeat of the events that played out before the 2015 elections, when some people threatened that the heavens would fall if they did not win.
“We need to team up with security agencies to unearth the forces working with these terrorists.”
Senator Isa Lau, who moved the motion, told the session that fighting between the herders and the farmers in Karim Lamido started on May 23, allegedly leading to the death of many villagers, the razing of 47 houses and the displacement of about 200 people.
The Senate urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to send relief materials to the victims.
The red chamber also called on security agencies to beef up security along the common boundaries between Taraba, Plateau and Bauchi states to check the free movement of criminal elements.
Sunday Aborisade
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