The Office of the National Security Adviser and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as other stakeholders have stressed the need to protect critical national assets.
This was disclosed during the Critical National Asset and Infrastructure (CNAI) and the National Protection Policy and Strategy (NPPS) 2023 Validation workshop in Abuja yesterday.
The national security adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), said the meeting was to ensure the full implementation of all aspects of the national security strategy.
Monguno, who was represented by the principal general staff officer, ONSA, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Ndalolo said the document was being presented to relevant stakeholders to enable them make observations and inputs to facilitate seamless implementation of the document when approved.
“As we know, the survival and security of every nation and the quality of life of its citizens largely depend on the functionality of its critical national assets and infrastructure.
“Any attack on these assets and infrastructure will have adverse effect on national security.
“Contemporary concerns for the security of national infrastructures became more prominent in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States.
“Since that gruesome attack, the United States and many other countries have taken necessary steps to identify critical national assets and infrastructure with the aim of designing appropriate policies and strategies to secure them,” he said
Monguno stressed that Nigeria had since 2009 suffered immense loss of lives and properties due to activities of terrorists and other criminal activities across the country.
On his part, the minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, pleaded with the security stakeholders to ensure proper protection of Nigeria’s critical asset and infrastructure.
He stressed that protecting the country’s assets will bring development of the nation, noting that because CNAI was diverse, stakeholders needed to brainstorm on the policies guiding it alongside how CNAI affected the duties of security agencies.
The minister also said there was need to checkmate the roles security agencies and stakeholders played in securing CNAI.
He made it known that it was imperative to know how security agencies planned to implement the strategies guiding CNAI protection.
In his words: “We expect a fantastic outcome so, your contributions in this workshop must come out of your experience in areas we believe are critical to the wellbeing and security of Nigerians.
“Whether with this government or the incoming administration, the Federation Executive Council will find out if this document has gone through critical evaluation and contribution before approval,” he said.
The commandant-general of NSCDC Mr Ahmed Audi, said the corps was the statutory lead agency in the protection of CNAI.
“Today’s gathering is aimed at completing the multi-stakeholder engagement process for CNAI-NPPS 2023. This document being presented for validation is in full compliance with the dictates of the aforementioned Security Council Resolution.
