Senator Austin Akobundu (Abia Central) has called for greater commitment to eradicating poverty, create an enabling environment for youths to thrive, and ensure that governance is all-inclusive, as part of measures to curb insecurity in the southeast zone of Nigeria in particular and in the nation as a whole.
Akobundu stated this in his welcome address to delegates at the zonal summit on security organised by the senate on Thursday in Enugu.
Senator Austin Akobundu who is the Chairman, Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on North East/South-East of the 10th Senate National Security Summit 2025, urged delegates from across the southeast zone, stakeholders and other “interested Nigerians, including those directly affected by the security situation in the country, to make input to the search for a comprehensive and conclusive solution to the lingering insecurity in Nigeria.”
He further stated that the nation must uphold the principles of equity and justice with sincerity of purpose as a way of curbing the security situation in the region to its barest minimum.
While expressing the Senate’s readiness to use inputs from the summit to amend and, where necessary, repeal existing laws, and make new comprehensive ones to ensure a more secure and prosperous Nigeria, Akobundu, who is also the Chairman of Senate Committee on Air Force (Ag), assured that “The National Assembly will continue to play its role in ensuring that inter-agency collaboration among our security agencies is sustained and that adequate resources required for the actualisation of this all important task of restoring the southeast to the path of peace, progress and prosperity, are not only appropriated but also released as and when due.
“To our men and officers in the frontline across Nigeria, your sacrifices will never be forgotten. You are our greatest assets and heroes in this war against extremism and criminality. The Senate takes the issues of your welfare seriously. We will continue to seek ways of ensuring that you are sufficiently motivated to execute this all-important task,” he concluded.
On the issue of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Akobundu stated during an interactive session with the press after the summit that he and other senators from the southeast zone have been strategically engaging the FG on ways of finding a political solution to the issue that would ultimately lead to the release of Kanu. He added that they had met with the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, through whom they wrote a letter to the President, vowing that they would not relent in their advocacy until Nnamdi Kanu is released.
The summit which had as its theme, “Strengthening Nigeria’s National Security Architecture: Innovation, Collaboration and Resilience in a Changing World,” had in attendance representatives of governors in the southeast, federal and state lawmakers from the zone, traditional and religious leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations. Service commanders, some of whom sent their representatives, were also in attendance and made far-reaching contributions at the summit.
