Insecurity: National Assembly set to approve special funding for security agencies
- Security agencies across Nigeria have received an ultimatum to forwards requests for special funding
- According to the Senate, the request will be different from the annual budget spending for these agencies
- Senate president Bukola Saraki said the Senate is ready to approve the special funding once request is made within two weeks
The Nigerian Senate has asked the security agencies in the country to forward their requests for special funding within two weeks.
The funding the Senate said would help in curbing the incessant killing across Nigeria. It will also be different from the annual budget for the various agencies.
The service chiefs including the director general of the Department of State Services, Daura Lawal, had been summoned by the Senate on Wednesday, May 23.
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Speaking after the meeting, the Senate president Bukola Saraki said the meeting was a useful deliberation. He said the lawmakers resolved that all the security agencies would get special funding, which the legislature was ready to approve.
“The Senate, in a closed committee of the whole, received briefs from the chief of defence Staff, the director general of the Department of State Services; representatives of the comptroller-general immigration service, inspector general of police, and the comptroller general of Customs on the proliferation of dangerous arms, spate of killings and kidnappings by hoodlums across the country.
“Thereafter, they answered questions from the senators bordering on security, insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping and other talks on national security matters.
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“On the whole, we decided that on our part, certain outstanding bills or protocols that needed to be given a fast track, should be addressed immediately, to see that they can be passed as soon as possible in order to strengthen the security architecture.
“Secondly, of course, we all observed the funding issue and also agreed that there must be a special funding. So, we gave them two weeks to present their own budget on this area of special funding that we think will go a long way in improving the security situation in the country," Saraki said.
He added that the National Assembly and all the service chiefs were committed to ending the killings across Nigeria.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Senate committee on media and publicity, Sabi Abdullahi, told journalists that the deliberation with the service chiefs was led by the chief of defence staff.
Addressing the non-appearance of the IGP before the Senate on several occasions, he said: “What we have said about the IG has been said; that is in the past.”
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He also added that the special security funding was part of the $1 billion security fund approved by the National Executive Council. He said the president had already approved the withdrawal of $496 million out of it for the purchase military aircraft from the United States.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the lawmakers and the service chiefs were in a closed door meeting on Wednesday, May 23.
The chiefs were led into the upper chamber at about 2:23pm, following the Senate's summon two weeks ago.
The lawmakers were to be briefed by the service chiefs on the proliferation of dangerous firearms, spate of killings by terrorists, as well as kidnapping by hoodlums across the country.
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Source: Legit.ng
