The House of Representatives is seeking alternative sources of income to fund capital expenditure and training for the Nigerian Armed Forces.
At a one- day public hearing on the proposed Armed Forces Support Trust Fund Bill, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and the Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said only 9 per cent of the Armed Forces’ annual allocations goes for capital expenditure in the face of rising insecurity.
The bill seeks to create an exclusive five-year funding plan, outside the annual budgetary allocations for the nation’s military.
It aims to revamp the Nigerian Armed Forces through special training and provision of modern fit-for-purpose security and defence equipment .
Speakers at the public hearing applaud the National Assembly for the initiative but point out areas of disagreements they say require touch before it is signed into law.
The bill proposes to have a retired governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as Chairman.
