Nigeria’s Military Do Not Get All Of It’s Allocated Budget – Ex-Air Force Spokesperson, Shehu

The former Nigerian Airforce Spokesperson, Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu, has disclosed the military does not receive all the funds in its approved budget.

Shehu made the claim during an interview with Arise News on Friday.

He insisted that for the Assembly to properly provide funding, there must be a frank discussion between the legislature and the security chiefs.

He said, “In order for the assembly to do a proper work of providing funding or providing oversight, there has to be a very frank discussion between the legislature and the security chief and such discussions are very sensitive in that it may not involve the general public.

“From my own experience, it is not all the money we see in naira and kobo on paper that gets to the military and not all that even reaches them on time. It’s a valid point to ask them for all the resources given but how are the resources disbursed? How quickly are they released?”

Speaking on the issue of summons of the security chiefs by the national assembly, the group captain said, ‘the summons is too many’ and the security chiefs should have time to do the work they were appointed to do.

“What I am saying is that it is a middle course. Nobody can take the power of summons of the national assembly. Not only the service chiefs, even ministers who are higher than service chiefs. But what I am saying is that the power to summon should be used Pari-passu.

“You gave these people the work to do. If you call them every time, if different committees call them over the same issue, then you are taking the time they are supposed to use for the field to be supervising their officers and men. The issue is to find a balancing point where the legislature will do their job and let the security agents will do their work.” He said