Nigeria military says $1bn approved for fighting insurgency not yet released
The Nigeria Army spokesperson, Sani Usman has disclosed that the approved $1bn fund for securing military equipment to fight insurgency in the country is yet to be released to the military.
Usman made this known against rising questions on the reason why the military suffered a high number of casualty from Boko Haram attacks in recent times despite being ‘fortified’ with equipment worth hundreds of billions of Naira.
Responding to the issue, Usman noted that “People should understand also that this is a democratic system in which procurement and of course funding of defense related issues takes such a long time.”
“The $1 billion approved recently by Mr. President, up till now the process is ongoing. The ministry of defence is still pursuing the matter to the point that when it is done, the armed forces will definitely get more equipment, more arms and ammunition.”
The National Economic Council, NEC had approved the request of the Federal Government to withdraw $1bn from excessive crude account, and President Buhari had promised to release the money to help the military square up their fight against terrorism in the country.
It is not clear why the fund has not yet been released as expected.
