Reps raise alarm over slashing of army’s budget

Also, the House of Representatives Committee on Army has expressed concern over the slashing of Nigerian Army’s 2022 budget by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, saying it will affect its operations.

The committee raised this concern when the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Lt.Gen. Farouk Yahaya, appeared before it Friday and disclosed that the army’s budget was reduced from N710billion to N579bn.

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He said the budget was inadequate considering ongoing operations against terrorists, bandits, separatists and other criminal elements in the country.

The COAS therefore called for a review of the envelope budget system which he said had been their major challenge.

He also called on the National Assembly to direct the ministry to start releasing the 2022 capital budget of the army in the first quarter of 2022.

Speaking, the chairman of the committee, Abdulrazak Namdas, said the N28bn proposed for the army as capital in the 2022 budget was inadequate.

“It is the wish of this committee to also draw the attention of the president to the plight of our officers living in dilapidated structures scattered across 138 barracks in the country.