The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s letter requesting the legislative approval to send Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin to quell the rising political tension in the West African country, days after a failed coup.
The troop, according to President Tinubu, would be stationed in the Francophone country on a peace mission to assist in restoring peace.
The approval was granted during Tuesday’s plenary after the lawmakers debated and considered President’s request in the Committee of the Whole.
Tinubu had, in a letter read on the floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, urged the Senate to approve the troop deployment to help restore governance following a recent coup attempt in Benin.
The President had initially deployed members of the Nigerian Armed Forces on Sunday to assist in restoring democracy after a group of soldiers attempted a coup.
In the letter titled “Deployment of Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin for a peace mission”, Tinubu cited Section 5(5), Part 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and stated that, following consultation with the National Defence Council, he sought the Senate’s consent for the deployment.
“This request is made further to a request received from the Government of Benin Republic for the exceptional and immediate provision of air support by the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Distinguished Senate may wish to note that the Government of the Republic of Benin is currently faced with an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power and disruption and destabilization of democratic institutions.
“The situation as reported by the Government of Benin requires urgent external intervention.
“The Distinguished Senate considers the close ties of brotherhood and friendship which exist between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, as well as the principles of collective security upheld within ECOWAS.
“It is our duty to provide the support as requested by the Government of the Republic of Benin.”
After reading the letter, Akpabio committed the President’s request for consent to the Committee of the Whole for immediate action.
