The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress (PYYC) has hailed the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, for preserving and promoting harmonious working relationship with the National Assembly.
The group made this known in a press conference tagged “NASS, Executive Interface: Good Synergy; Pregnable Results” on Sunday in Lagos.
In a statement signed by convener, Comrade Kola Salawu, the Yoruba Youth extoled the renewed synergy between the executive and the parliament, particularly, on the joint visit of the National Assembly (NASS) Committees on the Nigerian Army and the fair appraisal of the Boko Haram insurgency by both the Senate and House of Representatives.
The PYYC expressed satisfaction with the “ visionary, purposeful, focused and result-oriented leadership of the Nigerian Army which has flawlessly aligned in conformity with Mr. President’s transparency and accountability in leadership”.
The group, therefore, called on other security agencies as well as MDAs to emulate Buratai’s leadership style and quit unnecessary bickering with the legislature.
The Yoruba Youth, however, appealed to the parliament to increase budgetary votes for the military to finally extinguish the ghost of terrorism and insurrections in the country.
“ The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress (PYYC) is persuaded by very caustic nationalistic reasons to identify and salute Mr. President. It is for his consistent running of a transparent government of Nigeria, where the legislature is uninhibited in any manner, whatsoever, to engage stakeholders legitimately in order to get the country perfectly working in the#NextLevel,” the group began.
“ This is yawningly clear from the recent visit of the Joint Committee of the NASS to the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja. This was after the national parliamentarians visited the Northeast region, where Nigerian troops are busy with final stages of Clearance Operations to rout out residues of Boko Haram terrorists from their remote hideouts.
“ PYYC is excited by the NASS Committees’ oversight functions visit to the Army, especially as the national legislators stretched to the frontlines and had mutual interactions with Nigerian troops face to face on the counter-insurgency operations.
“The legislators led by Senate Committee Chairman on Army, Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume and his House of Rep’s counterpart, Abdulrazaq Namdas expressed satisfaction with troops’ commitment to committing the Boko Haram war to a victorious end. We consider this a fair commentary on Nigeria’s success on the anti-terrorism campaigns under the Buhari Presidency.
“With this development, we are prodded to thank the leadership of the Nigerian Army, led by the resolute and unconquerable Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and emperor of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai for translucently administering the Army in a style that has flung its doors open for all stakeholders to be part of the transformation of our country in tandem with the vision and intendment of President Buhari.
“The Army Chief, Sir, we want to bring to your notice that the PYYC is impressed with your visionary, purposeful, focused and result-oriented leadership of the Nigerian Army which has flawlessly aligned in conformity with Mr. President’s transparency and accountability in leadership. It shows both Mr. President and you have nothing to hide in the prosecution of the counter-terrorism campaigns.
“As a group, it is our unbending desire to see a fully regenerated and prosperous country in consonance with the authentic principles of selfless and patriotic leadership as articulated by President Buhari, ab initio from the kick of his administration years back. It gladdens our hearts to observe that leaders at lower rungs like Gen. Buratai are replicating the President’s exemplary leadership disposition and style in the public institutions they lead.
“Therefore, without any hesitance and in further appeals to the sensibilities of leaders at lesser levels and Heads of government agencies, we invite them to copiously emulate the Nigerian Army by ignoring unnecessary bickering with the National Assembly. The odyssey to the#NextLevel is our collective responsibility and everyone ought to play his part outstandingly.
“Permit us to seize this opportunity to appeal to our national parliament, especially, the Committees on the Nigerian Army in both Chambers of NASS to look into the pleas of the COAS, Gen. Buratai on the possibility of excluding the Nigerian Army from the subsisting envelope budgetary system.
“A review of the ceiling bar of budgetary votes for key agencies like the Army has become expedient in view of the ongoing reforms in the Nigerian Army and the resurgence of insurgency in the country, which indisputably requires additional funding to finally extinguish the ghost of terrorism and insurrections in our country.
“May we bring to the attention of NASS leadership and the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning that the Nigerian Army has embarked on ambitious and positive innovations in the institution designed to stimulate capacity-building, competence and effective discharge of their Constitutional responsibilities of preserving and protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.
“PYYC is aware that the leadership of the Nigerian Army under Gen. Buratai has embarked on innovations and structural changes such as the establishment of the Nigerian Army Special Forces Command, Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, Special Intelligence Command, Land Forces Simulation Centre, and Nigerian Army Aviation School among hordes of others.
“Therefore, an insufficient budget allocation and the sustenance of the prevailing envelope (ceiling) budget system for the Nigerian Army has the tendency to hamper the Army’s determination and capacity to meet commitments extended to it in the performance of these added responsibilities.
“In effect, the PYYC therefore, implores the parliament to use its powers to canvass for more votes for security agencies especially those directly involved in Boko Haram anti-insurgency operations and other Internal Security assignments in the collective synergy to propel the nation forward in the#NextLevel. We shall be pleased of this plea is heeded.”
