The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Abdulrazak Namdas, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government to increase the funding for the Nigerian Army, Page 36 learnt.
Hon. Namdas made this call on Friday, during a visit to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, at the Government House in Yenagoa, the State capital, adding that, bandits have more budget when compared to the Nigerian Army.
He also lamented that the Army is overstretched, stating that, the low budgetary allocations are not helping to boost the fight against terrorism and other security challenges in the country.
His words: “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 out of this N34 billion, only 50 percent was implemented, meaning only N17 billion was made available to the Nigerian Army for capital.
“That is to say N17 billion needed to procure arms, new vehicles, to build infrastructure, build barracks. In fact, even bandits have more budget than the Nigerian Army, the way things are happening.
“If we are to prosecute this war, and we are serious about it, we are to do more funding than the Army.”
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