House says no to extension of emergency rule

The federal house of representatives has declined the request of President Goodluck Jonathan for an extension of the state of emergency in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states.

Zakari Mohammed, spokesman of the house,made the disclosure on Thursday, saying the president had been advised to rely on Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act, which gave him the power to deploy the military to crisis areas in the country.

He argued that the state of emergency in the northeast was not yielding results, hence the need to adopt a different strategy.

“We have not extended the emergency rule. Rather we have asked the president to rely on Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act, which empowers him to deploy the military to trouble spots in the country,” Zakari said.

“We will be doing more good if Mr President relies on that, because if we have adopted a particular style and it is not yielding the desired results, ‎we should be able to change course. The Armed forces Act has empowered the president to deploy members of the armed forces to any trouble point in this country.”

He confirmed also that the house had adjourned to December 3, 2014.

The house of representatives went into a closed-door meeting after the pandemonium occasioned by the police’s firing of canisters of tear gas on the premises of the national assembly and on the speaker.

The Senate is yet to take a position on the president’s request. Angered by the tear-gassing of the national assembly complex by the police, its president, David mark, adjourned sitting to November 25.