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Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed Speaks On Withholding Army Budget

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The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has denied claims that it withheld funds appropriated for the Nigerian Army.

The head of the ministry, Zainab Ahmed, while speaking during an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Army, chaired by Senator Ali Ndume on Tuesday, said the N1trn had been released for the Nigerian Army from 2019 till April 2021.

Naija News understands that the military authorities had complained of shortfalls in terms of releases of appropriated funds from the Ministry of Finance.

Ahmed, however, defended her ministry noting that apart from funding the budget of the army almost 100 per cent, there had been a lot of instances where the security service went to the president, got special approvals “and we still provide funds.

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So perhaps what we’re providing is not enough, but the fact is we provide what’s budgeted and we provide what’s approved,” she said.

Ahmed revealed that out of the N1trn released to the army between 2019 and April 2021, N129.69bn was for capital; N39.76bn, overhead; N681.79bn, personnel and N157.6bn, special releases. She insists that her ministry did not have any view of the actual utilization of the funds.

What we’re doing is releasing the funds,” she said.

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