The House of Representatives Committee on Army has lamented that the sum of N28 billion appropriated for the Army as capital in the 2022 budget was inadequate.
The Chairman of the committee, Abdulrazaq Namdas, stated this yesterday when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, came to defend the budget.
He said it was the wish of the committee to also draw the attention of the president to the plight of the officers living in dilapidated structures across 138 barracks in the country.
Namdas stated: “Proposing N28 billion as capital for the Army 2022 is very inadequate. Even if the entire money is to be used for the rehabilitation of the barracks alone, it would still be very inadequate.
“In 2021, the capital was N29 billion, 2022, it is N28 billion. So instead of moving up, it is coming down and this budget is about capital. You use capital to buy equipment, you use capital to prosecute the war, you use capital to also renovate barracks.
“It is the wish of this committee to also draw the attention of the president to the plight of our officers and living in dilapidated structures scattered across 138 barracks in the country.”
“However, we must tell you the truth that the morale of your men in respect to accommodation is low. A lot needs to be done in that area. This is because your men can only be the best if they are psychologically stable,” Namdas added.
The committee chairman noted that it was hoped that the Armed Forces Fund Bill currently awaiting concurrence at the Senate when passed and assented to by the president would help tackle some of these major challenges.
Namdas insisted that the money appropriated as the capital budget was very small.
According to him, “actually, the money is very small. There is a need for us to sit down and see how we can help the Army move forward.”
