We had barely wrapped our heads around last Monday’s bomb blast at a motor park in Nyanya Abuja when news filtered of the abduction of more than two hundred young girls in Chibok Borno state.
The abduction of such high number of young girls in a state under under emergency rule is baffling and what is worse days after the abduction these girls seem to have vanished into thin air.
The security crises in the country have thrown up concerns of human rights violation by security agents and the Boko Haram sect.
Besides human rights violations, the crises have made many refugees in their own country.
The Chairman House Committee on Human Rights Beni Lar, said that the government has the duty of protecting the citizens of the country.
“We have had series of attacks in Nigeria that have claimed lives. Every citizens of the world under the United Nations convention has the right to life, the very basic fundamental right and the Chapter four of the Nigerian constitution gives every Nigerian the right to life,” she said.
She also spoke on how internally displaced persons can seek redress for abuse of their rights.
Away from the security crises in the country, the Federal Government, few weeks back, released the white paper on the report of the presidential committee on restructuring and rationalisation of federal government parastatals, commissions and agencies.
Although the Federal Government rejected some of the recommendations in the Steve Oronsaye report it accepted the recommendations of merging the Nigeria airways management authority (NAMA), Nigeria civil aviation authority (NCAA) and the Nigeria meteorological agency (NIMET)
The Gavel sat down with the Chairman Senate Committee on Aviation Senator, Hope Uzodinma, to get his thoughts on this recommendation.
He said that going by the requirements of various conventions Nigeria had entered into, it would not be possible to merge the regulator and the operator, insisting that the practice internationally is that both agencies would remain autonomous. “That is what is obtainable in all countries. Aviation is regulated globally going by the various conventions and agreements,” he said, explaining that the attainment of CAT1 status came with a condition that Nigeria must have a regulatory body and that there must be legislation.
