Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, said it will report the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, to President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to honour an invitation to interface with the legislature over the attacks in South Africa.
The House berated Onyeama, describing his conduct as unfortunate.
But the House commended the chairman of Airpeace, Allen Onyema, who volunteered an aircraft for the evacuation and resolved to invite him to the House in appreciation for his good gesture.
It equally called on the executive arm of government to consider Onyema for national honours.
Speaking at the end of a debate on a motion by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member from Plateau State, the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, said there was need for all the tiers of government to work together in the interest of the country.
“This is a nagging problem over which so many questions have been asked, but it is only when the facts are seen that we can address the problem. The minister has been asked on several occasions since this incident broke, both by the foreign affairs committee and by the leadership of the house, for a full briefing on what transpired to enable us address the issue properly.
“But it is unfortunate that the minister has not responded to the invitation, and even when the committee chairman wrote on behalf of the leadership of the House, he still did not respond. I believe we are one government and are here to serve the interest of Nigerians. So, I want to use this platform to send a direct message to the minister that he needs to respect the invitation of the committee of the House.”
In his contribution, Chairman, House Committee on Army, Abdulrasak Namdas, said the number of Nigerians living in South Africa is infinitesimal and wondered why Nigerians will be under attack every now and then.
The Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, said there was need for the country to review its foreign policy.
“There is need for our foreign policy to be citizens centred,” he said.