- Attahiru says Army requires “appropriate funds” for equipment, weapons, armour fighting vehicles, platforms and various combat enablers
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has denied reports that the federal government is under-funding the Army, saying that between January 2019 and April 2021, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning released a total sum of N1,008.47 trillion to the Nigerian Army.
The Minister, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Army on Tuesday to answer questions on the underfunding of the Army, said that the Nigerian Army got more than the budgetary provision in the period under review.
Her position runs counter to that of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume who raised the issue of poor funding the nation’s major fighting force.
But Ahmed said that far from not collecting the outstanding N50 billion from the Ministry which was part of the budgetary provision to fight terrorism, “in 2019, what was budgeted for the Nigerian Army was N19.6 billion and N12.84 billion was released, representing 64.37 per cent.
“In 2020, the total capital budget for the Nigerian Army was N34.37 billion and this amount was released 100 per cent.
“In 2021, that is this current year, the total budget for the Nigerian Army is N29 billion. As at April, we have released N17.98bn of that, which is 68.92 per cent. It means we are on course to also release 100 per cent.”
Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Attahiru, said last month while hosting the Senate Committee on Army led by its Chairman, Senator Ndume during an oversight visit to Army Headquarters, Abuja, that the Nigerian Army needs the appropriate mix of equipment to enable it efficiently perform its constitutional roles and defeat the security threats facing the country.
Saying that the security challenges include terrorism in North East, banditry in North West and North Central, secessionist agitations in South East and South South geo-political zones of the country, General Attahiru solicited the support of the Senate in ensuring appropriate funding for the Nigerian Army.
General Attahiru told members of the Committee that their visit was timely as it would afford them the opportunity to interact and discuss issues that would impact on the funding of Army activities and operations.
Attahiru told the Senators: “To curb and finally defeat these threats, the Nigerian Army requires equipment, weapons, armour fighting vehicles, platforms and various combat enablers.
“I urge you to as a matter of urgency, consider these critical needs as you legislate and appropriate funds. I will be counting on your support, so that we can efficiently perform our constitutional roles and defeat all our threats.”
Attahiru gave assurance that the Nigerian Army under his leadership would remain apolitical and committed to the protection of democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
Speaking, Senator Ndume said the purpose of the visit was to have close understanding of the issues and needs of the Nigerian Army and find ways to address them.
He acknowledged that the Nigerian Army has daunting tasks of mitigating the various security challenges confronting the country, adding that the National Assembly was ready to give the necessary legislative support.
Ndume stated that the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs have been giving assurances that they would do their bests to meet the expectations of Nigerians in tackling the prevailing security challenges.
According to the Senator, the bottom line is that they must be given what they need to carry out the assignment and that is money, equipment, personnel which translate into money.
Said Ndume, “that is why we are calling on the government to give the Nigerian Army the necessary support and tools to execute the mandate that is highly expected. Fortunately, we understand that the supplementary budget will be laid before the National Assembly to take care of some of the loopholes and lapses that we saw in the 2021 budget.
“And, knowing the new security challenges that we are facing in various regions, we are pledging that the National Assembly will give all the necessary support to the Nigerian Army. Especially, when it comes to the issue of budget or supplementary budget that is coming before us.”
