A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has called for immediate action to strengthen the Interior Ministry and its agencies to effectively address the country’s security challenges.
In a press statement, Nwauju expressed deep concern over the wave of violent deaths recorded along the Benue, Enugu, and Ebonyi axis of the country, which he believes has assumed a terroristic dimension.
“The 10th National Assembly must go beyond oversighting for roads and bridges, which I consider too elementary, to proactively inventing ways of tackling societal needs which will help strengthen our democracy,” Nwauju said.
He emphasized that lawmakers have a critical role to play in protecting lives and properties, particularly in areas that have been faced with evidential threats to their collective existence as a people.
Nwauju demands that the National Assembly review relevant sections of the Constitution to allow agencies like the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCoS) draw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and include NCoS in the national security budget. He also calls for an urgent review of the 2025 Appropriation for the Interior Ministry to strengthen agencies such as Immigration Services, Nigeria Security & Civil Defence, and Fire Services.
“We must think security first, think security second and think security third. It is a priority and time is now,” Nwauju emphasized.
The APC chieftain reiterated his previous call for the integration of Police Affairs into the Interior Ministry, citing the need for a coordinated approach to internal security.
“Agencies like the NIS, Customs and Police should be in sync for border surveillance activities.
“These agencies can work together as part of our internal security network for national peace and security,” he said.
Nwauju believed that integrating Police Affairs into the Interior Ministry will help curb the menacing threats from cross-border terrorists who are being mistaken for bandits or herdsmen.
He noted that the Interior Ministry has shown capacity in the past two years to galvanize the agencies under it and help evolve these paramilitary agencies into digital platforms.
With the 40% digitization of land borders so far achieved by the Interior Ministry, Nwauju believes that pushing it towards the 100% threshold will greatly improve national security, but this cannot be achieved without a proper and reasonable budget.
The APC chieftain urged the National Assembly to wake up to the reality of the security situation and take immediate action to review the 2025 Appropriation for the Interior Ministry.
“The National Assembly must wake up to immediately review its 2025 Appropriation for the Interior Ministry in order to urgently help curb the mindless cross-border killings being perpetuated by terrorists against unarmed Nigerians,” Nwauju said
