Reps, Security Chiefs differ on NASS confirmation

The leadership of the House of Representatives and Security Chiefs on Monday differed on the appointment and confirmation of the latter by the National Assembly.

While the Speaker Yakubu Dogara canvassed that the confirmation of the Service Chiefs by the National Assembly should be enshrined in the Armed Force Act, Cap.A20, Laws of the Federation, 2004, the Defence Headquarters, in opposing the proposed bill, urged that the appointment of the Service Chiefs by Mr. President should not be politicised.

Dogara who declared the public hearing of the amendment of six bills, held at the instance of the House Committee on Defence open, said: “dealing with confirmation of appointment of Service Chiefs, I must say that this bill represents the correct position of the law and judicial authorities. I will dwell a little bit on this bill as it has far reaching constitutional significance for both the National Assembly and the President.

“In this regard, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that this matter was extensively canvassed in the case of Festus Keyamo vs. President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and 4 others, Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/611/08, where the Federal High Court in a landmark decision held that S.18 of the Armed Forces which is in pari materia with the current amendment sought by this Bill is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and therefore valid.

“The Court set aside the Armed Forces Modification Order, 2008, No.50, made by President Yar’Adua purportedly pursuant to S.315(2) of the Constitution, which deleted the requirement for National Assembly confirmation of appointment of Service Chiefs, as unconstitutional.

“This case dramatises the danger of leaving S.315(2) of the Constitution as part of our laws. It was meant to be a transitional provision. We will take the earliest opportunity to revisit the issue of deleting S.315(2) from the Constitution in the ongoing constitutional review exercise, and hope that the House of Representatives will then rise to the occasion to do its duty in this respect.

“What this decision means is that S.18 of the Armed Forces Act is an integral part of the Law as currently in operation, since there was no appeal. There may therefore be nothing to amend. But I will leave it to the wisdom of the Committee to deal with as it deems fit. We must however express our thanks to the sponsor of this Bill for drawing the attention of the House and Nigerians to the issue.”

He also emphasized the need for the Committee to consult widely with stakeholders on the need to transfer the powers of Mr President who is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to make regulations with respect to the members of the Reserves of the Armed Forces to the Chief of Defence Staff, on the amendment of House Bill 411, which provides for matters relating to the Armed Forces Reserve.

Dogara also harped on the need for proper equipping, staffing and training of the Nigerian Police which is the civil authority designed to protect Nigerians in a democracy in the ordinary course of events.

While acknowledging the role played by the Armed Forces in maintenance of internal security currently, he lamented that the Police is ill-equipped, improperly manned and too weak financially to perform its constitutional duties, hence the need to urgently “re-examine the current architecture of policing in Nigeria to make it structurally strong and effective.

“The spate of insecurity, rampant kidnappings, terrorism, civil strife and threats to our corporate existence as a nation are too weighty and too important to be left unaddressed or to continue to be treated in a business as usual manner. As a Government we owe it a duty to ensure that Nigerians do not continue to die in in their numbers since the most important constitutional duty of the State is the Security and welfare of the people.

“The armed Forces also need to be strengthened to face the numerous security challenges faced by the Country with adequate funding and necessary policy frameworks. Officers and men of the Armed Forces are doing their best in the fight against Boko Haram and other security challenges facing the Country. There is no doubt that welfare and equipping of the Armed Forces with modern tools of War aided by technology is being undertaken by the current administration, but we need to do much more. The House of Representatives will continue to do its part to support the repositioning of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to stem the tide of insecurity,” Dogara stressed.

On his part, Mansur Dan-Ali, Minister of Defence who was represented by Danjuma Sheni, Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Defence who cleared air on the appointment of the Service Chiefs argued that the position is already being rotated among the services.

He also however stressed that the appointment of the Service Chiefs has always been based on the President’s wisdom.

However in his presentation, Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief of Defence Staff represented by Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Shafi, who cautioned against politicization of the Armed Forces, noted that the appointment of the Service Chiefs should be strictly at the proregative of the Presidency.

In his short presentation, Olonisakin also emphasised the need to extend the appointment of the Service Chiefs to other security agencies and restrict the tenure of the Service Chiefs to two years, noting that most of the Service Chiefs rearly stay for as long as four years in office.

Meanwhile, the inter-agency rivalry between Nigeria’s security agencies came to limelight during the public hearing, as the Nigerian Navy opposed the current arrangement on the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff from the Nigerian Army.

Commodore Patrick Nimyel who spoke on behalf of Chief of Naval Staff, maintained that noted that the confirmation of the Service Chiefs by the National Assembly is in randem with the principles of chcks and balances.

In his remarks, Major General Bamidele Ogunkale, Director General of Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) stressed the need for provision of adequate funding for provision of infrastructure that will enable the corporation to attract foreign investors.

He added that the Corporation has the capacity to expand beyond supply of arms and ammunitions to Nigeria’s security agencies, but also capture West African sub-region in the short-run and Africa at large.