Senate President Ahmed Lawan has cried out that the prevailing security challenges facing the country should not be left for the Federal Government alone, noting that the festering crises require a holistic action plan by all component units of the federation.
He lamented that the sentiments of politics, ethnicity and religion have combined to hold the country spellbound under the vice-grip of insecurity and urged stakeholders to be in the vanguard of finding a permanent solution to the problem.
Lawan spoke in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital on Tuesday, when governor Udom Emmanuel led him to Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, where he commissioned a section of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene dual carriageway left by the administration former governor Godswill Akpabio, at 20 percent completion.
While underscoring the importance of national unity and cohesion, the Senate President noted that the task of eliminating insecurity in the polity must be borne not only by the Federal Government but by other sub-national bodies including states and Local Governments no matter which political party controls the state.
“All hands must be on deck; we need all the tiers of government to deal with security challenges facing the country. What is requires is honesty and sincerity in leadership. The time has come for all the political leaders, irrespective of their political leanings to salvage the various issues facing Nigeria, because, when we hold our hands together, we can stop insecurity in our nation”, he stressed.
He commended governor Udom Emmanuel for shelving the sentiments of political party in his commitment to developments including the completion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene federal road, assuring that he would impress it on the Federal Ministry of Works, to refund cash expended on the road to the state government.
He disclosed that such refunds had been made to some states including Rivers, which he said, recently received N7billion as part of refund for
The central government, he added, would push for the contractor handling the road to return to the site in order to complete the section connecting the Ikot Ekpene axis to Aba in Abia state.
Earlier, governor Emmanuel, while welcoming the Senate President to the state, solicited his assistance to impress it on the Federal Government to make more refunds for fixing some federal roads in Akwa Ibom.
