Addressing members of the House of Representatives during plenary on Thursday in Abuja, Dogara
decried the continuous deterioration of security situation in the country, especially in the North
East, North West and some parts of the North Central of Nigeria.
He lamented that a few days ago, scores of persons were killed in Sokoto State and “elsewhere;
hardly any week passes without reports of mass killings and bloodletting, either by terrorists or
bandits”.
“This calls for drastic, urgent and concerted action and efforts to bring the situation to a quick end
as citizens are looking up to us.
“And we cannot afford to fail them because security of lives and properties is the primary purpose
of government.
“It is therefore imperative for the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces to take
a hard look at our national security architecture with a view to fixing the malady, in order to secure
lives, national pride and prestige,” local media reports on Friday quoted Dogara as saying.
The Speaker noted that the fight against unbridled violence is one the country cannot afford to
lose as it is tantamount to loosing civilisation.
He urged the lawmakers to strike a good balance between commitment to legislative duties and
participation in the campaigns in view of the forthcoming elections on Feb. 16 and March 2.
He appealed to all political leaders to cultivate the highest level of decorum, responsibility and
respect for the laws of electioneering campaigns.
`We must, through our conduct, show our commitment to the successful and peaceful conduct of
the elections; and above all, the sustenance of our democracy.
“We should avoid the tendency of being hypocritical by engaging in misdeeds that we are quick to
point out in our opponents. Let us be guided by our conscience and the teachings of our religions,
which demand that we judge ourselves before judging others,’’ he said.