2025: N50.44bn Budget Allocation Insufficient To Tackle Insecurity – Minister
The Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, has said the N50.44bn total allocation to the Ministry of Defence in the 2025 budget proposal was insufficient to address the security needs of the nation.
The minister, represented by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, at the budget defence session at the House of Representatives, also asked for funding for an additional 50 Armored Personnel Carriers in the 2025 budget to combat banditry across the nation.
The Federal Government allocated N50.44bn to the ministry in the 2025 budget proposal, made up of N31.81bn personnel, N4.90bn overhead and N13.73bn capital expenditures.
The minister said with the right equipment, the battle against banditry in the nation could be resolved within two months.
He said, “The Ministry of Defence is supposed to provide some equipment for some of the zones, but we cannot.
“Out of what we had in 2024, we were only able to provide just 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers but what can 20 APCs do?
“If we can have 50 APCs that can go into the bush to flush out those criminals, I assure you, within two months, we will finish the issue of banditry, but there is no provision for that in the 2025 budget.
“I believe this House will consider more funding to the Ministry of Defence so that we can be able to provide some equipment to some fresh areas of attacks.”
He also sought the support of the House Committee on Defence to approve an additional N20bn to enable the ministry to compensate the families of deceased military personnel.
“We have non-payment and accumulated bills of group life insurance, which is very important. We have the non-payment and accumulated bills of group life insurance for military personnel which we have requested the committee for consideration.
“We need the sum of N20bn as an additional fund for payment of families of deceased military personnel,” he said.
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Addressing the committee at the National Assembly Complex, the minister called for the prioritisation of the welfare of military personnel to enable them to give their best.
He also called attention to the conditions of military barracks across the country, saying, “If you look at the budget of 2024, most of the barracks, the allocation made was zero. How do we expect the personnel of the military to perform while their living standard is inadequate?
“All the proposals we made, the allocation in 2024 was zero and these are the people that we expect to perform magic. For us in the ministry, we have a lot of challenges.
“While we look at the budget of 2025, it is just N50bn. We have a shortfall of N18bn from the last year’s budget. And people expect the ministry to do wonders.”
He lamented that the ministry could not pay the entitlements of those in the theatres of operations.
“This month, I had to write a letter to Mr President to pay even the presidential guard.
“I believe this committee can look into the issue of the Ministry of Defence to see how they can squeeze out additional funding for the ministry,” he said.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.