The House of Representatives Committee on the Army has emphasised the need for improved budgetary provisions to build soldiers’ capacity to contend rising insecurity in the country as well as ensure their welfare.
Aminu Balele, chairman of the committee, (APC-Katsina), who stated this in Abuja on Monday at the 2025 budget defence session organised by the committee, pledged that the House of Representatives would work to actualise this.
Balele said that the committee’s responsibilities extended beyond mere oversight, stressing that it was also a frontline defender of the military’s interests within the government circle.
He said that as representatives, they were ready to aggressively champion the force’s needs, fight for resources and defend the interests of its officers and men.
The lawmaker said that the committee would support the army with everything necessary to curb insecurity in the country.
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“We are committed to providing unwavering support, fostering cooperation and maintaining solidarity with our military counterparts.
“Rest assured, this committee’s determination to champion the welfare of our troops, ensure adequate power provisions and promote capacity building at all levels remains steadfast,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen after a closed-door session with the chief of army staff, Olufemi Oluyede, Balele said that the committee was satisfied with the army’s 2024 budget performance.
He said that the army achieved about 99 per cent budget implementation and that the committee, during its oversight, had assessed it.
The chairman said that the committee had succeeded in improving the budgetary allocation to the army to cushion the rising effects of inflation and exchange rate on the purchasing power of the personnel.
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