INSECURITY: Hold private talks with Buhari, Uzodinma urges Reps

WERRI— Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has appealed to the leadership of the House of Representatives to hold a private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari on the current security situation in the country instead of holding a public session in the chambers.

Speaking in Owerri on the heels of the invitation of the President by the House in the wake of the Borno killings, the governor said they (House) could still get the same answers by meeting with Buhari privately.

Senator Uzodinma argued that discussing issues of national security publicly could be counter-productive, insisting that an open discourse on national security could turn out to be a threat to national security itself.

According to him, apart from compromising national security, such an appearance would offer the enemies of the country the window to know the weakness of the nation.

The governor acknowledged that it was the constitutional responsibility of the parliament to demand answers from the executive on any matter, but counselled discretion when security is involved.

Senator Uzodinma advised that the leaders of the House of Representatives should seek audience with the President on the matter after which they would brief other members at an executive session.

He advised the various committees on Army, Airforce and Navy to interface with the security agencies for details on the security challenges facing the nation.

Senator Uzodinma insisted the elected representatives should exercise caution in the matter of national security lest the country may be made even more vulnerable in the process.

He deplored a situation where some people continue to blame the president for the security challenges without appreciating the efforts being made to curtail them.