May 23, 2021

The House of Representatives has postponed the planned security summit scheduled to hold on Monday.

This was announced in a statement issued on Sunday by the Clerk of the House, Chinedu Akubueze, adding that the decision was in honour of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military personnel who died in a plane crash in Kaduna on Friday.

Akubueze also expressed the House’s grief and sorrow to the families of the late top military officers, praying that the Almighty God will grant them eternal rest.

“This is to inform the general public that the House of Representatives has postponed its national security summit scheduled to hold from Monday, May 24, 2021, in honour of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other military officers and men that died as a result of air mishap on Friday,” the statement partly read.

“The security summit will now kick off on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The House shares in the grief and sorrow of the families of the late top military officers and pray that the Almighty God will grant them eternal rest.

“It should be noted that the postponement became necessary as the late Army Chief was one of the major stakeholders that would have taken part in the summit. The House regrets any inconvenience the postponement may cause invited guests.”

Earlier, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, mourned the late COAS, noting Attahiru had “shown a lot of commitment in tackling the security situation in the country”.

While describing Attahiru as “a core professional officer,” the Speaker said the Nigerian military, especially the Nigeria Army, had lost a dedicated and committed senior officer whose services to the fatherland will be sorely missed.