The Abia State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Emma Nwaka, has expressed concern over the composition of the top echelon of the nation’s security agencies, saying the arrangement excluded the South- East zone.
He said that the composition of the top leadership of the security agencies tilted more to a particular section of the country and, therefore, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to look critically into the situation and redress it.
In a statement issued in Umuahia, the state capital, Nwaka said that it was not unlikely that the vacant position of the Minister of Defence would go to the North,
adding that “the offices of the Inspector- General of Police (IGP), National Security Adviser (NSA), Chief of Defence Staff, Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NDCDC) are occupied by people from one section of the country.”
He said: “It is important that the President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria redress the anomaly at his earliest convenience because of the multi-ethnic diversity of our nation and the crisis of confidence and thrust among the ethnic groups.”
Nwaka, however, condemned the persistent killing of innocent people and burning of their houses in some parts of the Northern states by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
He said he was baffled that Northern elders had not found the situation grave enough to compel the Fulani herdsmen to stop their mindless clashes with their host communities across the country. Nwaka noted that the clashes had led and will continue to lead to avoidable loss of lives and property, if no drastic step is taken to stop the killings.
The PDP chairman said aside the Boko Haram insurgency, the next major security challenge the nation may face would arise from the mindless killings by the Fulani herdsmen unless the Federal Government and stakeholders took urgent steps to arrest the situation.
He allayed the fear by some people that the disengagement of Lt- Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika as the Chief of Army staff (COAS) would threaten the peace and security being enjoyed in Abia State. Nwaka said that there was no need for such fear as what was required for permanent security in the state had been put in place.
He said: “I want to assure our people that there is no cause for alarm. The Nigeria Army under the new COAS, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, and other security agencies will continue to partner the administration of Governor Theodore Orji to ensure that the robust security situation in our state will not be threatened.
