Nigerian govt to increase military funding

The Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning is to interface with the Nigerian Army on improved funding for security operations in the country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed during an interactive meeting in Abuja on Tuesday with the Senate Committee on Army and representatives of the Chief of Defence Staff and that of the Chief of Army Staff.

According to her, the ministry and indeed the President prioritises funding for the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

“I have met with the chief of defence staff and all the service chiefs and I know that their need is very large.

“So We need to sit together and look at how we can rearrange the cost of governance so that we can shift emphasis to the funding.

“We are glad that the process is happening. Perhaps this will be the pathway toward looking at how we can fund the armed forces’ operations.

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“We also look forward to the funding of the army where 100 per cent of its requirements will be achieved,” she said.

Ahmed added: “May be the thing to do in the meantime, is to take stock of the real needs of the Nigerian army.

“You have an opportunity in the supplementary budget that is coming in so that we can address some of that.”

Earlier, Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Sen. Ali Ndume said the meeting was geared toward addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.

“The reason is because of the serious security challenges we are facing in the country that is spreading like cancer.

“We are here to interact and find out what the problem is and what the immediate solutions are,” he said.

By Mayowa Oladeji…

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