Metro
Bandits have higher budget than Nigerian Army —Lawmaker
A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Namdas who is the Chairman, House Committee on Army, has called on the Federal Government to increase funding for the Nigerian Army as bandits and terrorists operating in the country have more budget than the Army.
Namdas made the call on Friday, November 13, at the Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Douye Diri.
Namdas lamented the fact that the Nigerian Army was overstretched and the low budgetary allocations over the years are not helping to boost the fight against terrorism and other security challenges in the country.
“I can tell you on record that the appropriation we have been doing at the National Assembly is really too low for the Army.
“In the 2020 budget, only N34 billion was meant for the capital component. Remember that out of this amount, only 50 percent was implemented, meaning that only N17 billion was made available to the Nigerian Army.
Read also: ‘Bandits’ in APC responsible for confusion, insensitivity, failure in governance —PDP
“That is to say that N17 billion was used to procure arms, new vehicles, build infrastructure, build barracks, etc. In fact, even bandits have more budget than the Nigerian Army with the way things are happening.
“If we are to prosecute this war and we are serious about it, we are to give more funding to the Army.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, had also called for an improved budgetary allocation to the Nigerian Army.
Ndume who was on a visit to the 8th Division of the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Sokoto on November 4, had said:
“If you check the budget, what they have this year is about N120 billion which is grossly inadequate at the time of war.
“You can’t be in a state of war and you are budgeting less than one percent for the capital expenditure of the Nigerian Army.
“It is from that money they are supposed to go to their barracks, buy arms, and repair their ammunitions. It doesn’t just add up.”
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