Insecurity: Bandits must be declared terrorists – Sen. Gyang

By GYANG BERE, Jos

Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on Defense and Senator representing Plateau North, Istifanus Gyang said the federal government must adhered to the call of the National Assembly to declare bandits as terrorists in the country.

He noted that the inability of the federal government to recognize bandits as terrorists s what has remained as mystery to most members of the National Assembly.

Sen. Gyang disclosed this on Saturday while declaring open a training programme on Horticulture for 615 persons drawn from the 73 electoral wards across six local government areas that constituted Plateau North Senatorial District.

“By the terrorism act, every activities of bandits is a classical cases of terrorism. The inability to formalize that declaration is what is mystery to us and the call of the National Assembly still stands and as far as we are concerned, that is the position of the National Assembly; banditry and insurgency are all terrorism.”

Gyang described as illegal and act of impunity the undemocratic and unconstitutional attempt by few members of the Plateau State House of Assembly to subvert the will of the people through the purported and failed impeachment of the Speaker, Hon. Nuhu Ayuba Abok.

He applauded the Conference of Speakers in the country for rejecting the imposter, Hon. Yakubu Sanda at their meeting in Abuja and urged them to continue to stand by the constitution of Nigeria.

“I have just noted with concern the democratic profile of Nigeria has been adversely affected by the development in Plateau State following the undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal attempt to subvert the constitution and the rule of the State House of Assembly through the purported but failed impeachment of the Speaker.

“This is something that is very strange to democracy, it has been condemned not only nationally but globally. The conference of Speakers in the 36 states of the Federation drove away the imposter who wanted to attain their meeting in the name of the Speaker while we have the Speaker, who is Nuhu Ayuba Abok that is elected by the people.

“I want to advise the government and Governor of Plateau State that having bee a victim of this type of impunity, that he turn round to be a supporter and mastermind of it, it’s unfortunate, condemnable and he should retrace his steps.”

Senator Gyang noted that the effort of the federal government to diversify the economy of the country, by shifting attention from oil to agriculture was what informed the training programme.

He said the training which was carried out in collaboration with the Federal College of Horticulture Dadinkowo, Gombe State, is geared towards impacting knowledge on the constituents to become agriculturally self reliance.

“The post harvest training has become critical so that we can draw some of the benefits of investment that they have done on their farms and also to avoid waste and take advantage of local markets and to access both national and international markets with our products.

“We grow strawberries and crops that are tropical that is why we want to expand the scope of knowledge. You know we are in the knowledge driven economy that is why we want to train our people to be knowledgeable in this area so that we can take the advantage.

“We have people from 73 electoral ward from the six local government not on partisans basis that made up Plateau North Senatorial District that are benefitting from the programme.

“The argument gas been for long on the need for diversification of Nigerian economy and people are shifting to renewable energy. The key sector that can sustained the economy of this country is the agricultural sector, that is why we have place emphasis on this training for my constituency to be better inform for the post oil economy of the nation.” (Saturday Sun)