Northern elders have accused President Muhammadu Buhari of downplaying the problem of insecurity in the country.
They deplored the Buhari-led administration’s retention of Service Chiefs many years after the expiration of their retirement date.
A statement by the Coalition of North East Elders for Peace and Development and signed by its National Coordinator, Zana Goni, said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s retention of the service chiefs in the new year was uncalled for.
The coalition also lamented what it described as the appointment of almost only Northerners as managers of Nigeria’s security architecture, describing the development as morally and constitutionally wrong.
It added that the President’s retention of the service chiefs may have emboldened criminals and bandits.
The statement read, “At the moment, the most important thing for every Nigerian is security. They want their lives to be protected first. The National Assembly has since understood this and that is why as representatives of the people, they have called for more robust, efficient and effective security management for the country.
“We still stand by the position of the National Assembly where members unanimously resolved that the security chiefs be relieved of their positions to pave way for not only fresh hands but also fresh ideas in our security management strategies.”
“Sacking the current chiefs and subsequently replacing them with new ones will automatically change the game of insecurity as the morale of fighting officers will be boosted, new strategies will be launched, besides the flow of intelligence information among the security agencies.”