Return to your constituencies, Abuja not safe, minority leader advises reps

The senate and the house of representatives have embarked on an eight-week recess.

The leadership of the two chambers announced the break after their respective plenaries on Wednesday. The legislators are expected to resume sitting on September 20.

The lawmakers have gone on various breaks since the start of the year, but this would be the longest by virtue of it being their annual break.

After the plenary on Wednesday, the majority leader, Ado Doguwa, moved a motion for the house to adjourn sitting till September.

The minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, seconded the motion but added, “However, I want to beg members, Abuja is no longer safe, please, if possible, go back to your constituency. The place is so insecure.”

He was, however, interrupted by Doguwa, who said he is ‘derailing’ from the motion he was asked to second.

In his remarks, the deputy speaker of the House, Idris Wase, said such a ‘joke’ shouldn’t have been made.

“Security is everybody’s business and we should not play politics with security. Colleagues, I want to beg of us that we all need to come together, work together and think in a manner that we can work together to sort our issues.
“I believe the minority leader, maybe, was putting some jokes but I do not believe that it was a joke on the security in the lives and property of the people. By the grace of God, Abuja is going to be secured.

“I do not think we should scare investors who are coming into the country; I do not believe that we should scare people who could come to add value to us. It has not gotten to the level to say that is not safe,” Wase said.

On Sunday, three soldiers from Guards Brigade, Nigerian Army, were killed in an ambush by gunmen in Abuja.
On Monday, the ministry of education ordered the immediate closure of the Federal Government College, Kwali, in the federal capital territory over security threats.