The House of Representatives Committee on Defence on Tuesday resolved to increase the budgetary provision of the Ministry of Defence to sustain the success being recorded in the fight against insecurity in the country.
The committee made the decision following the adoption of a motion by a member, Philip Agbese, who commended the military for their efforts when the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, appeared to defend the Ministry’s budget for 2025.
This was as Matawalle said the sum of N50 billion allocated for the Ministry in the 2025 budget was inadequate and appealed for an upward review.
He assured with adequate funding the problem of banditry will be addressed in two months.
Agbese, who moved the motion said: “I am moving the motion before this committee Mr Chairman that we should grant explicit approval to the request that he has made is a fact that one time we saw the Honourable Minister and the Chief of Defence Staff leading our troops to the north-west to confront the bandits.
“Initially when we saw it on television we thought it was the usual political engagement by our leaders to just give us photographs and videos that will appeal to the masses. But two, three weeks after that time we saw that some of the notorious bandit leaders after that visit were killed, some were captured by our troops which attest to the importance of that visit.
“So the ministry is really, really doing well. I want to attest to that and it is because we don’t clap here, I would have asked Mr. Chairman that we should clap for the minister and what they are doing. So in line with that protocol, having established that Mr. Chairman, I want to move a motion before this parliament first to commend the Honourable Minister for what the military are doing in the northwest and across the country particularly in Benue State.
“We used to have issues of farmers herders crisis before now. Since he came on board in the last two years we have not had this problem anywhere in Benue. We give credit to Mr. President and the to the capable Minister that he has appointed and what the service Chiefs are doing. So I’m rising to move this motion that we should grant their request and find a way to even add more support so that they can do more in 2025.”
Earlier, the minister had lamented the inadequacy of the funds provided for the Ministry in the 2025 budget proposal.
He said: “We have some challenges. One, we have an inadequate budgetary provision. The headquarters and civilian personnel unit are unable to meet their obligations resulting in the accumulation of debt on services and staff entitlement.
“We have non-payment and accumulated bills of group life Insurance, which is very important. The very important issues that we have is non-payment and accumulated bills of group life insurance for military personnel, which I requested from the committee for consideration of maybe the sum of 20 billion as an additional funds for payment of families of deceased military personnel. That is one of our challenges.
“Mr. Chairman, if you look at the budget of 2024, most of the barracks, the allocation we met is zero. How do we expect the personnel of the military to perform while their living standard is inadequate? All the provisions that we made, the allocation in 2024 is zero. And these are the people that we expect them to perform magic.
“And for us in the ministry, we have a lot of challenges. Look at the budget of 2025, just N50 billion. We have a shortfall of N18 billion of the last year’s budget and people expect the ministry to do wonders.
“I was in Sokoto. I went to Sokoto by myself. Nobody sponsored me to go to Sokoto. I did it just to ensure people’s sleep with two eyes closed. My colleague Badaru went to Zamfara and Katsina and it was the same thing because there is no provision in the budget.
“In fact, the Ministry of Defence is supposed to provide some equipment for some of the zones, but we cannot. Out of what we have in 2024, we were be able to provide just 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs).
“What can 20 APCs can do? In Katsina alone, if we can be able to have 50 APCs that can go inside Bush to flush out those criminals, I assure you, within two months, we’ll finish the issue of banditry. But there is no provision for that. People have been complaining that money is being given to defence but this is what we have. And people are expecting us to do extra things out of the budget.
“We cannot do it Mr. Chairman. So I believe this House will consider more funding to the Ministry of Defence so that even on our own as ministers we can be able to provide some equipment to some flush out these areas of attacks.
“Insecurity is all over the country. If you go to South West, South East, North East, North Central, North West. But if you look at the budget of 2025, N50 billion to the Ministry of Defense.
“Other people outside are thinking that the whole money of Nigeria is going into the Ministry of Defense. It is not like that. You know about that. We could not renovate any barracks in 2024. We have a lot of complaints. We cannot be able to pay some of their entitlement, the military.
“They are into theatres, operations, we cannot pay. In fact, this month, I had to write a letter to Mr. President to pay even the presidential guards. The money was not there. So, Mr. chairman, I believe this committee can look into the issue of the Ministry of Defence to see how you can be able to squeeze and add more funding to the ministry so as at least you can expect more from us.”
He, however, promised that despite the fact that with the limited resources, the ministry and the personnel are doing their best to ensure the safety of all citizens.
Chairman of the committee, Rep Babajimi Benson, said the importance of the defence sector cannot be overstated as it is the backbone of the nation’s security architecture, tasked with addressing diverse threats that challenge our peace and stability.
He said over the years, the Armed Forces of Nigeria have demonstrated remarkable commitment and professionalism, achieving significant progress in countering insurgency, terrorism, banditry and other forms of insecurity.
He said the dynamic nature of these challenges demands continuous adaptation and innovation.
Benson said recognizing this, the National Assembly has consistently prioritized the defence sector in the national budget, with increased allocations in recent years.
He said, however, with these enhanced resources comes a heightened expectation for prudent, transparent and impactful utilization.
“As representatives of the people, it is our duty to ensure that every naira is judiciously spent to strengthen the operational capacity of the Armed Forces and deliver tangible results,” he said.
