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Army Seeks More Funding To Fight Boko Haram

Citing inadequate finance, authorities at the Nigerian Army Headquarters have explained that soldiers could not tackle the current Boko Haram insurgency in the North East … Continue reading Army Seeks More Funding To Fight Boko Haram


FILE: Nigerian military operatives

Nigerian-ArmyCiting inadequate finance, authorities at the Nigerian Army Headquarters have explained that soldiers could not tackle the current Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and other security challenges facing the country.

The Chief of Accounts and Budget, Nigerian Army Headquarters, Major-General Abdullahi Muraina, made this remark at the opening ceremony of a training programme for the  Nigerian Army Finance Corps, Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers, at Jaji, Kaduna.

According to him, apart from limitations of the envelope system, the Nigerian Army is also enmeshed in the bureaucratic bottlenecks for funding approvals for military operations, and appealed that Government should evolve other means of funding and supporting military operations, other than the normal budgetary allocations.

The increasing dynamic environment, coupled with continued technological development in the country and her immediate neighbours spurred the Army to place high premium on efficiency, proficiency and professionalism of officers and soldiers.

It is against the background that the authorities are agitating for improved funding to enable the military effectively confront the present security challenges.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Kenneth Minimah, believes that the current security challenges have left serious demands on the Nigerian Army’s resources.

“We know that funding is fundamental to contending with the security challenges. Success in this pursuit therefore calls for prudent and efficient management and application of available funds”, he said.

Although the Defence Ministry has always received the highest allocation in the past budgets, the Nigerian Army authorities are insisting that such allocations are still a far cry to meet up with its constitutional obligations of securing the nation’s territory.