By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Nigerian Army has urged the National Assembly to prevail on the Federal Government to remove it from the envelope system of funding.
It also sought an increment in its funding to nip in the bud, incessant cases of insecurity in the country.
Chief of Army Staff,
Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, stated this yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, (APC, Katsina Central) led Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Army.
He explained that the envelope budgeting system had continued to encourage gross underfunding of the Army to perform optimally in line with its constitutional duties.
He said it would bring efficiency and the required manpower, including the expansion of the theatre of operations of the Army.
The Chief of Army Staff urged the National Assembly to facilitate the passage of the Armed Forces Trust Fund bill before the end of the 10th Assembly and also called on the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Armed Forces Support Trust Fund bill before the expiration of the present 10th National Assembly.
Lagbaja noted that the Army and other services of the Nigerian forces will benefit from the passage of the bill through improved funding.
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He reiterated that the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on December 3 was a regrettable error, assuring that mistakes of such would not happen again.
The Committee observed a minute silence, after which the COAS again expressed regrets over the Kaduna accidental drone bombing, describing it as an error.
It assured that investigations are ongoing to unravel the true situation of the matter, while also observing that the welfare of personnel of the Nigerian army should be given topmost priority in the budget to ensure the army effectively tackles the nation’s security challenges.
Yar’Adua assured Nigeria that the committee would be transparent in scrutinising the Army 2024 Budget.
He, however, commended the Army Chief for taking responsibility for the unfortunate incident in Kaduna state, while reiterating that the investigation already started will get to the root of the matter
The Army Chief also presented a budget of N787.2bn for the 2024 fiscal year, personal cost at N647.5bn, overhead cost of N31.6bn, and capital Expenditure of N107.9bn. That of 2023 was N665.1bn.
