President Muhammadu Buhari has implored the National Assembly to partner with his government to defeat insecurity in Nigeria.

President Buhari made the plea at a dinner held in honour of members of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, stated this in a statement titled ‘We Must Do Everything within Our Powers to End Insecurity, President Buhari Tells National Assembly Members’.

According to the statement, the President expressed concern that insecurity had inhibited the government’s ability to build infrastructure, provide the much-needed social services to the people, and attract investments that drive innovation, creative industries, and provide jobs and create wealth.

He quoted the President as saying, “Some of the people who perpetuate these various manifestations of insecurity do so for profit, others, in the name of discredited ideologies.

“Whatever their motivations may be, their actions are an existential threat to our country.

“In these circumstances, we must do everything within our power, without consideration of distractions, to put an end to their activities and bring them to book.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from this objective or waver in our commitment, and I am confident that together we will triumph in our present efforts,” he said.

He also lauded the ninth National Assembly for discharging their legislative duties with maturity and competence, describing the legislature as “full partners in national development.”

He specially commended the minority parties in the legislature for their cooperation and support for Government programmes saying ‘‘our ability to govern in the best interests of the Nigerian people depends a great deal on effective collaboration and partnership between the Legislature and the Executive.

 “The obligation to check and balance each other is not an invitation to conflict, and it should not be characterized by quarrelsome disagreement when consultation, engagements, and compromise have proven time and again to be a more effective approach.

“In the ninth Assembly, you have distinguished yourselves by your conduct in office, by the scale and quality of your legislative interventions, and by your capacity for engaging with the difficult questions facing the country with maturity and competence,” he said.

He commended the leadership of the National Assembly under Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila for their dedication through challenging times.

‘‘You have also succeeded in overcoming the political and other obstacles that have, for two decades, inhibited the much-needed reforms of our Oil and Gas industry, resulting now in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.

‘‘I congratulate you all, and thank you for your contributions to the difficult, yet necessary task of nation-building.’’

The President noted that the executive and legislature came into office at a time of significant challenges for the country; adding that overcoming these challenges requires that we finally confront long-ignored questions of economics, politics, law, and history that are often at the root of our national problems.

He said, ‘‘This moment in history requires us to make hard choices, take difficult decisions and act with diligence and patriotism to ensure that our country can survive and thrive long after we have all left.

‘‘What this means in effect is that our jobs will not get any easier. However, the objectives we seek and will work together to achieve, deserve our best efforts regardless of the sacrifice’’.

As the second legislative year of the 9th Assembly has just come to an end, Buhari said it was necessary to jointly review shared commitments, saying that he looks forward to continued collaboration and partnership between the Executive and Legislative arms of government.