… Says Nigeria a lucky country, on receiving Report on Security Summit***

President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration is ready to use everything within its powers to end insecurity in the country and bring perpetrators of criminal activities to book.

The president stated this at a Presidential Dinner with the 469 members of the National Assembly, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.

According to him, insecurity, manifesting as insurgencies, banditry, kidnapping and urban crime of all sorts is the single most difficult challenge facing the nation.

He expressed concern that insecurity had inhibited government’s ability to build infrastructure, provide the much needed social services to the people, and to attract investments that drive innovation, create industries, and provide jobs and create wealth.

‘‘Some of the people who perpetuate these various manifestations of insecurity do so for profit, others, in the name of discredited ideologies.

‘‘Whatever their motivations may be, their actions are an existential threat to our country.

‘‘In the circumstances, we must do everything within our power, without consideration of distractions, to put an end to their activities and bring them to book.

Also read: Buhari charges security agencies to ensure quick release of kidnapped students

‘‘We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from this objective, or waver in our commitment, and I am confident that together we will triumph in our present efforts,’’ he said.

Buhari also used the occasion to hail the ninth National Assembly for discharging their legislative duties with maturity and competence, describing the legislature as ‘‘full partners in national development’’.

He particularly commended the minority parties in the legislature for their cooperation and support for government programmes.

‘‘Our ability to govern in the best interests of the Nigerian people depends to a great deal on effective collaboration and partnership between the Legislature and the Executive.

‘‘The obligation to check and balance each other is not an invitation to conflict, and it should not be characterised by quarrelsome disagreement when consultation, engagements and compromise have proven time and again to be a more effective approach.

‘‘In the ninth Assembly, you have distinguished yourselves by your conduct in office, by the scale and quality of your legislative interventions, and by your capacity for engaging with the difficult questions facing the country with maturity and competence,’’ he noted.

The president listed some legislative accomplishments of the ninth Assembly ranging from returning of the budget cycle to January to December; the amendment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA); the Nigeria Police Act; the Finance Act; and the Deep Offshore Production Sharing Contract Act, among others.

He, therefore, commended the leadership of the National Assembly under Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila for their dedication through challenging times.

‘‘You have also succeeded in overcoming the political and other obstacles that have for two decades, inhibited the much-needed reforms of our Oil and Gas industry, resulting now in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

‘‘I congratulate you all, and thank you for your contributions to the difficult, yet necessary task of nation building,’’ the president told the legislators.

He noted that the executive and legislature came into office at a time of significant challenges for the country.

‘‘Overcoming these challenges require that we finally confront long ignored questions of economics, politics, law and history that are often at the root of our national problems.

‘‘This moment in history requires us to make hard choices, take difficult decisions and act with diligence and patriotism to ensure that our country can survive and thrive long after we have all left.

‘‘What this means in effect is that our jobs will not get any easier. However, the objectives we seek, and will work together to achieve, deserve our best efforts regardless the sacrifice,’’ he said.

The president further noted that it was appropriate to jointly review shared commitments, to identify what had been achieved, and what is still left undone.

‘‘This way, we can prioritise activities and allocate the resources necessary to ensure that in the lifetime of this Assembly, and of the administration, we can complete the work we have started, and leave behind a record of achievement that will stand all of us in good stead in the assessment of history,’’ he said.

The president said he looked forward to continued collaboration and partnership between the Executive and Legislative arms of government.

He said they must work together to achieve a shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous country.

Earlier in their separate messages, the Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila thanked the president for promoting the principle of partnership between the National Assembly and the Executive for the general good of the society.

They also expressed the readiness of the national assembly to ensure speedy passage of 2022 Appropriation Bill when submitted by the president in September.

The President of the Senate particularly advocated for more allocation of resources to the security sector to tackle the nation’s security challenges.

In the meantime,  President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is a lucky country and Nigerians should congratulate themselves despite facing challenges that could have torn them apart.

Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement, said Buhari stated this when he received the report of the National Security Summit held on May 26, by the House of Representatives.

The report was submitted by a team of House members, led by the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday.

President Buhari urged leaders to respect the people, from the lowest to the highest, “so that it becomes a duty to them (the people) to pay back to the leadership.”

According to him, respect for the people should come in allowing them to choose who they like as their leaders, irrespective of political party or religion.

While describing the event as “a remarkable occasion,” the president restated his determination to serve the country to the best of his ability, recalling his visits to the 36 States during the campaign for 2019 elections.

He said: “The number of people that turned out to see me, some waiting for 10 hours in the sun, was more than anyone could buy, or force.

“They just wanted to see who this Buhari was. People wonder why Nigerians accept me, despite not being rich. I wonder, too. I felt I just have to serve Nigeria and Nigerians to the best of my ability.”

He commended the 9th National Assembly for its cooperation with the Executive, saying he tried very hard to get the 8th Assembly to do same for the sake of the country, “and I didn’t succeed much.

“But time has proved me right.”

In his remarks, Gbajabiamila thanked the president for endorsing the security summit conducted by the House.

“You were part of it from the very beginning, and you were to have declared it open, if not for the exigencies of duty,” he said.

The Speaker said the summit became imperative after lawmakers were bombarded daily by their constituents on the security challenges facing the country, “and motions after motions were moved by the lawmakers.”

A committee of 50 lawmakers, across party, religious and ethnic lines, he said, was set up to plan the summit, “and Mr President was very eager and enthusiastic about it, showing the importance you place on security.”

Gbajabiamila said the report was a product of inputs by traditional rulers, scholars, independent thinkers, and security chiefs.

According to him, it contains seven recommendations that require legislative action, and about 19 that will be implemented by the Executive.

The Speaker submitted: “Thank you Mr President for what you have done so far to douse tension and for Nigeria to remain one.

“It’s about all of us, not just the Executive, the legislature or the judiciary. And Nigeria will work, by the grace of God.”