Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

House of Reps Reject Bill to Arm Federal Fire Service

The House Of Representatives has rejected a bill proposing to arm personnel of the Federal Fire Service.

The bill was meant to grant firefighters the power to bear arms to protect them from mob attacks while responding to emergencies.

Lawmakers ditched the bill by rejecting a motion moved by Representative Thomas Ereyitomi.

They based their position on the fact the Federal Fire Service is a civil outfit and not a security agency.

Rather than arm the service, the lawmakers advocated for it to be better equipped and positioned for improved service delivery,

The bill was aimed at creating an arms-bearing unit that will be referred to as “Fire Police”.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and Chairman of Council had earlier disclosed that the decision is “part of efforts to address the challenges often faced by firefighters during operations, through mob action and vandalism of firefighting assets in the country” during the opening of the National Council on Fire.

Aregbesola, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, said: “the Ministry would initiate the process of repealing the 1963 obsolete Fire Service Act and enactment of a new contemporary, vibrant, and enforceable law, through the instrument of an Executive Bill to be forwarded to the National Assembly for deliberation and eventual passage into law”.

____

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2021 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Related

News

The House of Representatives has issued 72-hours ultimatum to the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, to submit detailed report on the...

News

The House of Representatives has taken up the claim of result falsification made by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) against Mmesoma Ejikeme,...

News

House of Representatives has urged the Federal and State governments to prepare for impending flood disasters. This comes on the heels of a motion...

News

Chief of Staff to President Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, is expected to tender his resignation as a lawmaker on the floor of the House...

Copyright ©