Following the worsening security situation in the country, the Senate on Tuesday said it will pursue immediate implementation of community policing.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, stated this in his speech to welcome Senators from the Christmas and New Year recess.
He reiterated that the security situation in the country required serious attention and due consideration by the Senate and indeed the National Assembly.
He said that the Senate would engage the executive arm of government to discuss the implementation of the recently launched National Security Strategy (NSS) 2019.
He added that for a long time major stakeholders in the security of the country and police authorities appeared to achieve consensus on the necessity of introduction of Community Policing in the country.
Lawan said: โRecently, the security in the country had deteriorated and the attendant loss of lives is not acceptable.
โWe need to secure the lives and property of our citizens, as enshrined in our constitution.
โWe all are witnesses to how our economy is also affected by the inclement security situation. Therefore, we need to speedily seek for solutions to fix the security problem bedeviling our dear country.
โThere is urgent need for paradigm shift and reform of the architecture and structure of our security systems.
โEqually important is the citizen participation, and collaboration in providing security. In this regard, the Senate will engage the Executive arm of government to discuss the implementation of the recently launched National Security Strategy (NSS) 2019.
โFor a long time, major stakeholders in the security of our nation and police authorities appear to achieve consensus on the necessity of introduction of Community Policing in the country.
โThe Senate is going to pursue the implementation of community policing vigorously.
โTo this end, the police authorities will be invited to brief and update the Senate on the progress made so far.โ
Lawan stated that pursuant to the Legislative Agenda of the ninth Senate, the next six months, like the first six months, will be a busy and engaging period to address the challenges facing the oil and gas sector as well as the nationโs electoral system.
He added that the National Assembly needed to start work on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) immediately.
โThe previous attempts in the sixth, seventh and eighth assembly sessions to pass the bills failed.
โThis Senate should learn from the mistakes that militated against the successful passage of the bills.
โWe need to break the jinx. We must avoid the pitfalls that worked against the passage of the previous bills,โ Lawan said.
According to him, the Petroleum Industry Bill when passed will encourage investments into the oil and gas sector.
He said: โThe International Oil Companies (IOCs) have deferred investments in the industry largely due to two decades of fiscal uncertainties occasioned by various failed attempts to deliver on the petroleum industry legislations that practically subsisted since 1967 and disputes associated with fiscal clarity of the 1993 Production Sharing Contracts.
โIt is therefore, imperative to speedily deliver on the reforms in the oil and gas sector to spur economic growth and prosperity for our people.
โIt is my belief that when the Petroleum industry governance and fiscal laws are delivered, economic uncertainties will be eliminated and conducive environment for exploration and production of oil and gas will be emplaced.โ
He said that it is imperative that the National Assembly starts work to effect amendments in those areas of of the nationโs electoral processes and procedures that posed some real challenges to free, fair and credible elections in previous elections.
He insisted that for elections to express the will of the electorate, โthey must be free and fair.โ
He said: โThe Senate will consult widely with stakeholders to ensure that any legislative intervention reflects the necessary step to reforming the electoral environment.โ
He recalled that before the Senate went on recess, it held roundtable discussions on the power, agriculture and solid minerals sectors with the view to identifying the challenges militating against the optimum performance by those sectors.
He said: โThe reports of the discussions are ready and will be presented to the Senate by the appropriate committees.
โThe reports will be debated in plenary and necessary resolutions will be taken.
โUltimately, there will be shared responsibilities between the Legislature and the Executive on the way forward to address the various bottlenecks.โ
He stated that it is an incontrovertible fact that the power sector cannot function optimally and thrive under the current circumstances.
He lamented that the anticipated outcome of improvement in effectiveness and efficiency of the privatization process has not been achieved, and doesnโt look feasible.
โTherefore, we have to take all necessary steps to salvage this indispensable sector.
โThe ensuing debate on the report of the Roundtable Discussions will no doubt reveal the actions that the Federal Government will need to take,โ Lawan said.
He also lamented that the solid minerals sector was neglected after the discovery of oil.
He noted that though there have been attempts to revamp the sector, โit is yet to make any meaningful contribution to our economy.โ
He added: โToday, the solid minerals sector accounts for only about 0.3% of our Gross Domestic Product.
โIt is obvious that we need to take a holistic look into the challenges in the sector. It has also been reported that, presently, about 80% of mining operators fall into the category of artisanal and small-scale miners.
โThis deserves our attention, to ensure inclusion, effective and efficient operations by those involved.โ
The Senate President also reminded his colleagues that agriculture played an important and leading role in the nationโs economy before the discovery of oil.
He said: โPrior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, agriculture was the mainstay of our economy.
โAgriculture was then the highest earner of foreign exchange for the country and Nigeria was also largely self-sufficient in food production.
โHowever, with the discovery of oil, the lure of petro dollars turned the focus of the country from agriculture.
โDespite the present efforts of the Federal Government to enhance the performance of the agricultural sector, there is still much to be done to make the sector perform optimally.
โNo doubt, the agricultural sector is critical for the diversification of the economy of Nigeria, as we can create jobs, create wealth, earn foreign exchange and ensure food security.
โWe therefore, should ensure the restoration of the viability of this sector in order to utilize the abundant potentials and opportunities it offers.
โThe challenges and work before us are enormous and indeed urgent.
โBut, we have demonstrated patriotism, commitment, capacity and willingness in our previous handling of similar challenges.
โWe can therefore, equally tackle these issues with the same dispatch and commitment.โ
