Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede, the acting Chief of Army Staff, has requested increased budgetary support for the Nigerian Army for it to fulfil its constitutional obligations and provide housing for troops.
Oluyede made his request during a condolence visit to Abuja on Monday by the Senate Committee on Army, which was chaired by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua.
He said that the army recruits around 15,000 troops every year but does not provide adequate housing for them.
He voiced concern that the army would struggle to accommodate the soldiers if the present security issues were resolved and they returned to barracks.
Oluyede said:
“It is important for me to reiterate that Nigeria belongs to all of us and without your support, it would be very difficult for us to secure Nigeria. I want to really appeal to you, very eminent personality of Nigeria, to just please support us and make our job very easy so that we can help secure Nigeria as much as possible.
“Well, over time, we have had situations where the resources that are attributed to the Nigerian army keep dwindling. I think this is a very good forum for me to appeal that maybe, in considering next year’s budget, a few very important issues should be noted.
“For instance, in the last couple of years, we’ve been recruiting about 15,000 personnel but I can tell you that not a single support has been given in terms of the accommodation.”
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cc: Daily Post Ng
