The Senator representing Borno South senatorial district of Borno State in the National Assembly (NASS), Senator Ali Ndume has said God will hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible for the security challenges that besieged Nigeria under his tenure.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Senator Ndume said this on Sunday while that President Buhari is responsible for not only the security and welfare of his citizens but everything that happens within his tenure.
According to Ndume, Buhari, who has the power to appoint and sack non-performing service chiefs, has been acting as the director-in-chief rather than as the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.
“The President is the Commander in Chief. The bulk stops at his table. The president is responsible for not only the security and welfare of his citizens but everything that happens within his tenure. President Muhammadu Buhari is responsible for that. And I think he understands that.
“What I am not comfortable with, I have said it before, is for the president to be directing. He is not a director-in-chief. He is commander-in-chief. The president should take up and do what is required of him as the commander-in-chief.
“As I said, for him as a president, it is him that God will ask. For me as a Senator in Southern Borno, it is me that God will ask whether I have represented or said or talked on behalf of the people, I have executed my mandate as their representative in the National Assembly.
“So, it is not like you are looking for somebody who is to do that. It is the president. The president can appoint anybody to do so-so thing, direct anybody to do so-so and so but he is the commander-in-chief. So, he is the one that is responsible,” Ndume said.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV Sunday Politics programme, the Borno South Senator, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, also said the Nigerian army does not have the capacity to fight terrorism.
Ndume said the major problem is inadequate equipment for the armed forces and manpower. According to him, Nigeria has less than 400,000 personnel. He also said that the allocation to the army is insignificant and not released on time.
Speaking on the move to impeach President Buhari, Ndume said “talking about impeaching Buhari now is not the issue. The issue is to resolve security challenges in Nigeria”.