Shehu Sani, a Nigerian Senator during the Eighth National Assembly has said asides President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to sack the service chiefs over a year ago, accusing the now-former security chiefs of bringing so much embarrassment to the country.
Senator Sani said President Buhari had no choice than to replace the service chiefs who had also embarrassed him and his administration, describing their appointment as better late than never.
“The President has no option than to take the steps which he has taken in the sense that apart from his failure to replace these service chiefs more than a year ago, they have caused so much embarrassment to the country, to even himself as a person and his administration,” Senator Sani said when he appeared on ARISE News Thursday.
“How can you be a president and bandits and herdsmen are killing your people in your very state at a time you are even in that state for a private visit.
“How could he have allowed it to reach such a point, extending their tenure in office while they have not been delivering what they need to do and he kept defending them while his legacy, his name, the reputation of the country is being tattered and lives are being lost every day.
“If you are appointed into office and you fail, you need to be sacked so that people will come with new ideas, new strategies so that they will tackle the problem. So I will say it’s better late than never because the people appointed now still have the opportunity to address the wrongs of the previous people who were there.”
Senator Sani in a veiled manner described the ninth National Assembly led by Senator Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as a rubber stamp legislature which approves everything brought by the executive.
“I have heard lawyers making issues about the constitutionality and unconstitutionality of it (appointment of service chiefs), the right thing to do as far as the constitution is concerned is to send their names to the national assembly particularly the senate for confirmation,” Sani said.
“But the President is quite aware that as far as these legislators are concerned whether he announces it or he does not, he will get his way through, but he knows it’s unimaginable during our time for you to do that without you being excoriated on the floor of the senate. That was much impossible for him to do that.”
By Abel Ejikeme