Ndume: FG complacent on security… funds are being approved for trivialities

Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south district, says the federal government is “complacent” on the issues of insecurity in the country.

Ndume spoke on Wednesday in an interview with Channels Television.

Recently, the spate of violent attacks has increased in parts of the country.

TheCable had reported how gunmen, on Monday night, ambushed a Kaduna-bound train at Kateri-Rijana area in Kaduna.

According to the Kaduna government, 362 passengers boarded the train, 26 persons were injured during the attack, eight bodies were recovered and several persons unaccounted for.

Speaking on the development, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, said the attack could have been avoided if a digital security equipment had been procured.

Amaechi said his colleagues declined approval for the procurement of the digital security equipment meant for the railway.

Reacting to Amaechi’s comment in view of the train attack, Ndume faulted the decision to decline approval for the purchase of the said equipment.

“If you look at it deeply, there is a lot of complacency in it. You have the MTN services. These people are using phones so you can track them. With today’s technology, people are taken away and you say you don’t know where they are. No, I mean let’s be serious,” he said.

“Coming back to what the minister (Amaechi) said, I got angry too. I mean how can you put all these people — everyday, an average of 1,000 are moving around — and then the ministry will ask for money to buy gadgets and drones. These are mostly off-the-shelf items.

“You can order them or import them, install them immediately in two to three days. But you know what will happen in Nigeria next? They will go on TV and say we have purchased so and so and the bandits will watch it and they know where it is going to be installed.

“This system is terrible. People will frustrate this kind of process and you can see the minister was angry. That means there was a lot of frustration in the process of procurement. He said it.”

Informed by the presenter that the money for digital security equipment was not even approved, the senator said, “and they are approving money for trivialities. Nonsense!”

Ndume bemoaned the involvement of consultants in the execution of projects approved by the federal government.

“This one (referring to N3 billion digital security equipment) they will say let’s employ a consultant first. Out of N3 billion, consultants will be paid five percent. Oh! What people do in this government,” he added.

“I have said this several times that there is a bunch and a lot of kleptocracy in this system and the government needs to do something about it.”