Insecurity: Reps Lose Interest In Inviting Buhari After His Invitation Turned Political

A source said House has decided to drop the invitation because of the body language of the presidency.

The House of Representatives is no longer interested in inviting President Muhammadu Buhari to address a joint session of National Assembly on the security issues in the country, TheNation reports.

The initial invitation extended to the president was reported to have assumed ethnic and political dimension.

Some of the lawmakers behind the motion to invite the president have also reportedly apologised to the presidency, saying they did not intended to embarrass the president.

Recall that following the killing of 48 farmers in Zabamari in Borno State, some members of the House of Representatives moved a motion to invite the president to address the National Assembly on security challenges. The motion was later adopted by the House.

Lawmakers, who supported the motion include, Hon. Ahmed Satomi, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Hon. Zainab Gimba, Hon. Muktar Betara, Hon. Mallam Bukar Gana, Hon. Haruna Mshelia, Hon. Ahmadu Usman Jaha, Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Bukar, Hon. Usman Zannah and Hon. Abdulkadir Rahis.

However, Buhari, who had initially agreed to appear before the lawmakers turned down the invitation after the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the House lacked the power to summon the president.

The leadership of the senate also backed Malami’s position as it rejected the move to invite the president to address lawmakers.

Due to this, a source, who spoke to The Nation said the House has decided to drop the invitation because of the body language of the presidency.

The invitation according to TheNation almost slid into South-North divide among lawmakers, as opposition house members were accused of planning to use the invitation to undermine and embarrass the president.

A source, who spoke to the newspaper said “The House of Representatives has foreclosed or dropped any immediate or future plans to invite President Muhammadu Buhari over insecurity in the country because a harmless motion has become political.

“I can tell you that we will no longer revisit the invitation. But we will be interacting with Service Chiefs and other ministers in charge of the nation’s security.

“The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its lawmakers capitalised on the motion to cast aspersions on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. What we never intended became the issue.

“Some governors and strategists in government insinuated that the House leadership was working for a different political interest. That was why they pulled the strings from the Senate.

“At a point, the row over the invitation was turned into a North-South divide if not for the political dexterity of the House leadership”.

The source also disclosed that some lawmakers, sponsored the motion have gone through the back door to the Presidency to apologise over their insistence that the President must appear before the National Assembly.