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As Akpabio Demands Ex-CDS’ Response to Trump’s Threat
- Safiu Kehinde
A mild drama has ensued at the Senate as lawmaker rejected motion to allow former Chief of Defense Staff and ministerial appointee, Gen. Christopher Musa (Rtd), take a bow and leave the screening exercise for the approval of his appointment as the new Minister of Defence.
NPO Reported that Musa has on Wednesday appeared before the Senate on Wednesday barely 24 hours after his appointment by President Bola Tinubu.
While the ex-CDS had fielded several questions raised at the red chamber, one of the lawmakers, Sen. Sani Musa, raised a motion for an end to the screening as he harped on the sensitivity of questions and debates about a nation’s security.
“This is a Chief of Defence Staff that have been in the system. He knew everything.
“And we are talking about security and he is going to man a Ministry that will be handling security matters in this country that are very sensitive.
“I believe that we have had closed sessions with him severally and some of the questions that we will ask here and the responses may not be well dispensed at this moment.
“I feel we should just allow this gentleman to take a bow and go.” the lawmaker said.
This had sparked mixed reactions from his colleagues, turning the plenary into a rowdy session as most Senators protested against the motion.
The fracas which lasted over three minutes forced the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, out of his seat as he called for decorum within the chamber.
Akpabio called the Senators to order after reading the section 62 of the Senate’s Standing Order which according to him stated that “whenever the President of the Senate or the Chairman, as in this case, of the Committee of the whole rises during a debate, any Senator then speaking or offering to speak shall sit down and the Senate or the Committee shall be silenced so that the President of the Senate or the Chairman of the Committee on the whole may be heard without any interruption.”
While noting Sen. Musa’s motion, Akpabio however faulted it, stressing that Nigerians deserve to hear from him how he intend to tackle the insecurity bedeviling the country.
The Senate President also demand to get a response from the ex-CDS on the threat by the United States President, Donald Trump, who had disclosed plan to take military action against terrorists in Nigeria over alleged Christian genocide.
“Senator Sani Musa, your point of order is noted. I did not say rejected but noted.
“The reason I said so is that the man standing in front of us could be regarded as a solution to the current insecurity in the country.
“And we are not here on our own. We are here representing our constituents. And our constituents will like to hear from him whether his appointment will enable them to sleep well, whether their children will be safe in schools.
“We are not asking him questions because we don’t like him. We are asking him questions because our constituents will have loved to ask him questions at a time like this.
“So, if we come here and we do politics of oh bow and go, this is not a period we should say bow and go. Even Donald Trump is on our neck.
“We have not yet ask him what his response will be to Donald Trump, the President of America.
“He is not just anybody. Chief of Defence Staff, a nominee for the Minister of Defence for a country and you stand up and say he should take a bow and go? With so many questions in the mouth of Nigerians?
“With over 200 Nigerian children in the bush kidnapped and being tortured?
“His appointment his hailed all over Nigeria with happiness because Nigerians believe he has something to offer. Give the man opportunity to give Nigerians hope.” Akpabio said.
See video below