The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has raised concern over the Nigerian Army’s inability to provide accommodation for an estimated 13,000 new recruits expected to join the force this year.
Oluyede, who spoke in Abuja on Thursday during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Army, attributed the challenge to the limitations of the current “envelope budgeting system,” which he described as inadequate for the army’s operational and welfare needs.
He said the military was overstretched in terms of infrastructure and warned that the inability to provide shelter for troops poses a major threat to operational efficiency and national security.
“This year alone, we are expecting about 13,000 new personnel, but there are no corresponding resources to provide accommodation for them,” Oluyede said. “We still have soldiers not being accommodated, and that number will continue to grow.”
He added, “We are not only contending with internal insecurity. What happens if we are challenged from outside? The welfare of our personnel, including shelter, is critical.”
The army chief called on the National Assembly to push for special funding outside the restrictive envelope budget structure, which he said cannot address the unique and expansive needs of the armed forces.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, admitted that the funding model was failing the army and pledged legislative support to increase the army’s budgetary allocation.
“The Nigerian Army and Armed Forces should be removed from the envelope budgeting system,” he said. “They need more funds to meet the realities on the ground. We’ve seen these needs firsthand during our oversight visits.”
Yar’Adua said the committee had split into two teams to inspect army formations across Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Lagos states to assess budget performance and military infrastructure.
He assured the army chief of the National Assembly’s commitment to push for financial reforms that would enable the army to function more effectively.
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