By Gbenga Akingbule
Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas has lamented the poor state of Army Barracks across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Army, Namdas lamented the poor state of Army Barracks across the country.
Namdas, who expressed himself over the poor state of the barracks on Thursday, noted that the committee is ready to make budgetary and none budgetary provisions to address the issue.
Namdas, alongside his committee members who arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for an overnight visit, stated that the Army deserve a better accommodation facility for the sacrifices they have been making to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
He stated that a bill is already before the National Assembly that will make available additional funding sources for the Nigeria Military and security agencies when passed to law.
The Honourable said that the issue of suitable accommodation for officers and soldiers across the country is of immense importance to the committee. Noting that a better accommodation for the Army will also translate to better output from the officers and soldiers.
“We are ready to make appropriation that will ensure that some of our Army Barracks are renovated every year. I know it’s not easy to maintain the Army’s 138 Barracks across the country. Still, we are also looking at additional funding sources for the Nigeria Military and other security agencies.
“We have visited several Army formations before coming here. Nigeria Army has I38 Barracks; that’s a huge infrastructure,e and it requires even building more Barracks and rehabilitating the existing ones. It is a very serious challenge “ Adding that “ the N28 Billion Capital allocation to the Army is still not enough- even if the N28 Billion is channelled to the rehabilitation of Barracks alone, it won’t be enough “, Namdas said.
The committee, therefore, advocated more funding for the Amy and other security agencies across the country, stating that by the time the new law on Armed Forces Support Trust Fund (AFSTF) comes on stream, “the private sector will have to provide additional support to the Military just like they did during Covid 19. “
