The Senate
has begun high-level consultations with the Presidency and other stakeholders
over its proposed security summit scheduled to hold in the next two weeks.The Guardian learnt that
the consultation became necessary due to
apprehensions about the summit in
certain circles, particularly from the presidency, the security community and
even within the upper chamber.
The summit,
which was earlier fixed for Wednesday and Thursday this week, was postponed
within 24 hours of the Senate resolution abruptly, till the next two weeks to
allow for proper planning.Sources disclosed that the criticisms against
President Muhammadu Buhari over his inaction in the face of mindless killings
in many parts of the country fuelled suspicions on the real motive behind the
summit.
The Senate
leadership was said to have received several calls seeking explanations on the
summit.Also, within the Senate, a cloud of discord is beginning to gather
against the summit. Former Governor of Nassarawa State, Senator Abdullahi
Adamu, is one of the lawmakers that expressed his opposition to the open
criticism of Buhari by senators when the country’s failing security
infrastructure was debated last week.He took exception to what he called the
outright condemnation of the Buhari administration on the matter.
However, the
Senate leadership explained that the postponement was to allow all those
expected to participate to thoroughly prepare.The Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed
Ibrahim Lawan, had said that convening a summit on a matter as serious as
national security is not one to be rushed without proper consultation and
study.He added that having given the inspector general of police 14 days to
arrest killers of the 73 persons in Benue State, the Senate believes that the
security summit should be deferred to among other things, allow the police
gather more intelligence on the killings.
Meanwhile,
the plan by the Federal Government to establish cattle colonies across the
country as the solution to the perennial clashes between Fulani herdsmen and
farmers has continued to attract serious criticisms from senators and civil
society organisations (CSOs).In separate
interviews with The Guardian yesterday, the lawmakers described the planned
cattle colonies as an attempt to bring back through the back door, the grazing
reserves bill, which was rejected in 2016 by the National Assembly.
The Chairman
of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Sam
Anyanwu, said the proposal ran contrary to generally acceptable norms in
private businesses across the globe, adding that government has no business in
securing free land for selected businessmen, while others are left to be on
their own.Anyanwu added: “You know that I do not subscribe to the plan to set
up cattle colonies. Every businessman should go and look for land and buy for
his business. I will not support plans to give free land to people for
businesses. Cattle rearing is a private business.”
The Senate
had in 2016 rejected the controversial bill seeking to establish a Grazing
Management Agency that will ensure the creation of grazing areas across the
country.Sponsored by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central), the bill was
withdrawn along with two other similar bills sponsored by senators Barnabas
Gemade (Benue North East) and Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North).
While
Gemade’s bill sought to establish A National Ranches Commission for regulation,
preservation and control of ranches, Utazi’s bill sought to control the keeping
and movement of cattle in the country.Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu,
had also said that the Senate lacked the power to legislate on grazing matters,
stressing that only states have powers to legislate on grazing matters and
livestock.
While
arguing that the National Assembly lacked the power to legislate on the matter
since it was neither on the exclusive nor concurrent list, Ekweremadu said:
“The issues at stake here are neither on the exclusive list nor on the
concurrent list. I believe therefore that it is a residual matter. It is for
states to decide how to deal with it. I believe the matter here concerns
everybody, given the level of carnage and the conflicts going on in different
states.”
The proposed
cattle colonies also received knocks from the CSOs, as the Human Writers
Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said it would be unconstitutional for the
Federal Government to deploy public resources to assist private businesses of
select people in the country.The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade
Emmanuel Onwubiko, who was a Federal Commissioner in the Nigerian National
Human Rights Commission, stated: “The decision
to set up cattle colonies is tantamount to granting rewards to the
killer herdsmen and this is indirectly conveying the impression that the
herdsmen enjoy some measures of support from some highly placed Nigerians.”
Onwubiko
urged Nigerians to challenge the decision of the Federal Government to set up
cattle colonies in court as a way of stopping it. His words: “Let the Nigerian
people opposed to this unconstitutional act about to be imposed on Nigeria
speak out loud and clear and file cases in different courts of competent
jurisdiction to challenge the legality or otherwise of this wholly
discriminatory policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.”
He
maintained that the development could lead to “the deployment of billions of
public funds raised from taxes and exports of crude oil taken from the
neglected and environmentally degraded Niger Delta communities to service the
private businesses of Fulani herdsmen.”
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