The twenty two groups under the aegis of the Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative, at a press conference in Abuja also accused some politicians in the country of benefitting from the insecurity in the land.
The Convener of the Initiative, Comrade Emmanuel Okpokwu Ogenyi, said some politicians in the country worsen the insecurity situation in the country by giving cover to some of the criminals.
“He said this is a clear case of conspiracy against the Nigerian state by persons who are the greatest beneficiary of the system.
“The military had concluded on decisively dealing with these security threats before the elections so that no one would use them as excuse to postpone or scuttle the polls as was the case in the past.
“This is commendable and proof that the military is desirous of defending and protecting our democracy at any cost”, he said.
He also said the group has gathered that this has greatly unsettled the beneficiaries of the security breaches and threats in Nigeria who decided to give a patriotic face to their questionable acts by pretending to be concerned about the welfare of the country.
“It is an attempt at appearing to be patriotic that culminated in the motion by Senator Suleiman Asonya Adokwe supported by Senator Solomon Olamilekan, Senator Philip Gyunka, Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha.
“These elements called for change of security chiefs under the pretext that they are concerned about the safety of Nigerians.
“To the best of our knowledge, this call for change of security chiefs is nothing but another political game for the 2019 General Elections, in which the only winners are the politicians.
“They therefore have the incentive to divert attention from practical solutions to the security situation in the country.
“This is why they conveniently omitted to acknowledge that the militias and terrorists that are driving these crises were armed, co-ordinated and financed by members of the political class and how these killings are masterminded by those who have refused to empower the youths in line with electoral promises”, the group also said.
The group demanded that the Senate, the National Assembly as an institution, should wake up to the reality and enormity of the duty they owe Nigeria and face their core duty.
“Instead of asking for a change in military leadership, they must first provide the necessary political support for addressing Nigeria’s security challenges. The executive arm under the able leadership of President Buhari and the Armed Forces have done their part.
“Had the legislature demonstrated an equal zeal as opposed to actively supporting terrorists, these crises would have been history by now.
“We challenge the federal lawmakers to deliver resolutions that will tackle foreign nations that are sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria, like Iran. This must be in addition to calling out countries that midwifed the instability that has poured fighters and weapons into Nigeria from Libya and other North African states.
“National Assembly members have the burden of calling themselves and other politicians to order and arrive at an accord not to introduce more firearms into the country as Nigerians go to poll.
“They will also have to introduce mechanism for mopping up the weapons they had given out in the past while discretely tipping security agencies to the criminal killer squads they set up as private militias”. He said
