The 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have donated their one-month salaries, amounting to N109m to the victims of drone mishap in Tudun Biri Village of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
This was announced by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin at the Kaduna Government House when he led a high-powered delegation of the Senate to the state on Sunday.
The Senators were received by the state governor, Senator Uba Sani.
Senator Barau, in a statement by his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, said the money would be sent to the state governor for onward delivery to the victims.
The governor thanked the senators for their donation.
The Senate delegation comprising the Senate leader, Senator Micheal Opayemi Bamidele; the Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume; Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Kamorudeen Olarere; Senator Abdulhamid Malam-Madori; Senator Aliyu Ikra Bilbis; Senator Ibrahim Bomoi; Senator Ibrahim Lamido; Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua; Senator Victor Umeh; Senator Muntari Dandutse; Senator Lawal Usman; and Senator Emmanuel Udende, were also at the Barau Dikko Hospital to visit the victims.
Sen Jibrin said “We will partner with you. We will do all within our powers to bring succour for those that were affected by this unfortunate incident. It is on this note that we want to announce on behalf of the President of the Senate that the first measure that we decide to take, apart from investigation, is to a kind of bring our something that will alleviate the hardship being faced by the people of the area(Tudun Biri). It might not do much but a kind of show our concern in our zeal to bring succour to those that were affected by the unfortunate incident that happened at Tundun Biri.
“It is on this note that we have decided that we are going to donate our salaries for a full month to be given to those that were affected by this incident. So, a total of N109 million will be made available, I have told the governor, so that it will be channeled to help bring a kind of succour to those that were affected by what happened.
“We are here to represent the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio and indeed, other senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to sympathise with you and condole you for the lost lives and those who sustained injuries in respect of the unfortunate incident that happened at Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna some few days ago.
“We are all worried. We are all disturbed but the only thing we can say now is for the Almighty Allah Grant those who lost their lives rest and those who sustained different degrees of injuries for Allah allow them have quick recovery.
“Let me clearly state here that since the occurrence of the unfortunate incident, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been working ; be contacting and has been in contact with the President of this country who is highly disturbed and working behind the scene to unravel the reason why the incident occurred.
“I want to emphasize here that President Tinubu will leave no stone unturned in his zeal to unravel the unfortunate incident. We are working on the same page with Mr. President.
“Mr. President is highly in the mood that no stone should be left unturned to unravel the circumstances surrounding what happened and prevent that from happening again. So, we are all on the same page with the executive arm of the government.
“We will continue to work in partnership in order to unravel what happened and to also take measure to prevent this kind of unfortunate incident to occur in the future.
“We are here to show our solidarity and to show the fact that we stand by the government of Kaduna State and we stand by the governor and indeed the entire people of this State, particularly, the people of Tudun Biri in this trying period that the State is experiencing”. Jibrin said.
Governor Uba Sani, in his response, urged the Senators to collaborate with him in advocating for justice, stressing the necessity of a thorough investigation and the punishment of those responsible for the bombings.
The governor attributed the bombing incident to allegation that there was lack of coordination among the security agencies and armed forces.
He appealed to the Senators to support the call for the creation of State police, saying that it would equip security agencies with precise intelligence to avert similar incidents in the future.
He however, expressed displeasure over an attempt by some disgruntled elements to bring religious and ethnic sentiments to the attack.
He said the bombing incident has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity, saying that in Kaduna we are not divided over religious faiths, adding that, “Both Christians and Muslims are one”.
He also said that the State government would continue to support the security agencies”.
