The Senate on Tuesday, rejected the report of
its Ad Hoc Committee on Southern Kaduna
crisis over non-reflection of details and
serious issues affecting the area.
The report was also turned down because it
did not cover similar crises in other parts of
the country as the committee was mandated.
The committee was mandated to cover all
the states in the country, especially Zamfara,
Kaduna, Benue, Enugu, Abia, Taraba,
Nasarawa, Delta, Edo and Kano, that had
recorded clashes.
But the committee visited only Kaduna and
Zamfara.
The rejection came after the presentation of
the report by Chairman of the committee,
Sen. Kabiru Gaya, at plenary.
Gaya had told the senators that the
committee recommended that those found
wanting in the Kaduna crisis should be
brought to book and that victims deserving
compensation should be paid.
“The reason why we raised the
recommendation is that most of the white
papers produced during the last routine crises
in Kaduna, none has been implemented,” he
said.
He added that the committee also
recommended that Kaduna State Government
should collaborate with security agencies to
embrace everybody irrespective of ethnic or
religious affiliations.
“They should also set up a committee to
embrace dialogue for peace to reign within
Kaduna South and Kaduna State.”
The lawmaker said this was very vital
because there was a kind of communication
gap between the government and the
committee.
But reacting to the report, Deputy President
of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, noted that
the committee identified only 10 states to
visit, but that the crisis and the killings
existed in more than 10 states.
“This Senate must accord this issue the
seriousness it deserves. The report needs to
be deeper than this; the recommendation
needs to reflect more of the seriousness of
the matter.
“They should be given more time to do more
work on this so that they will be able to
show to the whole world that this senate is
serious about this matter.
“To say that we have to use money for
“service wide vote’’ to address this matter
shows our misunderstanding of the concept
of “service wide vote’’. It is not a small fund,
it is tied to specifics,” Ekeremadu said.
On his part, Sen. Baranabas Gemade (APC-
Benue) said that the report was obviously an
interim one.
According to him, it is very obvious that quite
a lot of work that needed to be done to bring
this report to a level that we will actually
establish the seriousness of this problem has
not been done.
“There are many aspects of insurgency and
disturbance in these areas; there is the
aspect of cattle rustling and nomads straying
into farmlands, disturbing people,” he said.
On the recommendation of recreating cattle
routes, Gemade said that there was the need
to look at the fundamental requirements of
our nationhood.
“Where is that law that provided free assets
of nomads in West Africa to go wherever they
like, however they like and do whatever they
like.
“These are issues we must deal with. We
must come to a point where we are in total
agreement of what is good for everybody,” he
said.
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr
Bukola Saraki, said that there were many
other parts of the country with similar issues
as Kaduna South that the committee’ report
did not cover.
“The seriousness of the matter deserves in-
depth and detailed recommendations,” he
said.
Saraki, therefore, urged the committee to
address some of the observations and report
back.
Meanwhile, the Senate adjourned sitting to
April 25 for the Easter holiday. (NAN)