Crisis has hit the Senate Committee on Army over alleged lopsided recruitment into the Nigerian Army as two members of the Panel walked out of the meeting.
The Panel was scheduled to interact with the Commandant, Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command, S.O. Olabanji.
But in the midst of the meeting, the Deputy Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ibrahim Danbaba, and Senator Barry Mpigi walked out over what was learnt to be the alleged overbearing attitude of the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Abba Moro, who was acting Chairman during the meeting.
However, speaking to newsmen after the conclusion of the meeting with the Senate Leader, Senator Abdullahi Yayaha, in his Office, Senator Danbaba stated that he walked out from the meeting with another Senator from Rivers State because the Acting Chairman was preventing him and others from asking questions on the lopsided recruitment in the Nigerian Army.
He said that his argument is based on Federal Character principle, which has not been complied with by the Nigerian Army, adding that the issue has been on ground unattended to during the eight Senate when he was the Vice Chairman of the Army Committee.
He said: “The issue of marginalisation in recruitment has never been responded to.
“It is part of the oversight process of the committee to ensure that whatever is to be done should be done to ensure justice.
“The Nigerian Army, like any institution of government in Nigeria, is supposed to comply with provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and that constitution has made it very clear that the issue of federal character and representation is paramount and it is a constitutional issue.
“So you cannot overlook it.
“You cannot put it under the carpet.
“So I raised an issue.
“I said the Senator who spoke on the suddenness of this recruitment process is right and therefore since we have been asking, let us once more ask for these statistics so that we’ll be able to know whether what the General was saying that there has been any lies.
“That is a matter of fact.
“Just a matter of whether it was just.
“I’m not blaming the Army.
“The Army has been performing very well, but at the same time the issue of recruitment is very very important.
“I left the meeting.
“I stormed out because I was angry.”
Responding to the allegation, the Acting Chairman said that he prevented his colleagues because he was asking the wrong question from the Commandant on Training and Doctrine, which he can’t respond to.
According to Moro: “The Commandant was not the right person to respond to the question.
“He will only train people that are recruited.”
