Members of the House of Representatives are unhappy with what they consider to be the “horrible” condition of military barracks in the country, particularly those occupied by soldiers.
Lawmakers said this on Tuesday during a session with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, in Abuja.
Buratai had appeared before the House Committee on Army at the National Assembly to defend the 2017 budget proposals of the Army.
The committee is chaired by a member from Taraba State, Mr. Rima Shawulu.
The combined total defence budget for this year is over N465.8bn.
The Army’s share is N152.8bn.
But after studying the breakdown, members observed that there was no provision made for the rehabilitation or building of new barracks for soldiers.
They immediately demanded explanations from the Army chief.
It was a session where Buratai himself complained that budgetary allocations to the Army could hardly meet operational needs.
One of the lawmakers, Linda Ikpeazu, told Buratai that many of the soldiers in the South-South and South-East of the country had no decent accommodation.
She recalled how the committee went on a tour of some barracks recently and met the families of soldiers living in “horrible accommodation.”
Ikpeazu asked for explanations on why financial provision was not made for the barracks in the budget.
She added, “The barracks are horrible, especially in the Uyo-Calabar axis; the accommodation is not there for the soldiers.
“You can’t possibly expect them to give their best if you subject your soldiers to this situation where there is no proper accommodation.
“Nothing is reflected in this 2017 budget for the barracks. Are you telling this committee that the Army doesn’t even consider the condition of the barracks a top priority?
“We need these answers, please, from the Army.”
However, as Buratai made efforts to reply, some members asked him to stop because there were other issues in the budget aside the barracks.
They opted to set up a “technical committee” to thoroughly discuss all the issues and report back to the main committee.
Shawulu also intervened and adopted a proposal by members that Buratai should be excused until the technical committee had concluded its assignment.
He said, “There are issues that will require more detailed work.
“The Senate and the House will have this technical committee to examine all the issues.
“Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff should just take a bow and go.”
Earlier, Buratai told the lawmakers that his men had re-doubled their commitment to fighting insecurity in the last one year.
He complained that poor release of funds had, however, slowed down operations in some cases.
Buratai stated, “Currently, the Nigeria Army is deployed in about 32 states fighting to eradicate terrorism, cattle rustling, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, armed banditry and communal clashes among others.”
Shawulu too confirmed that in 2016, the committee had to make a case for additional N10bn to be added to the budget of the Army.
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