The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has raised alarm over Nigeria’s ability to properly equip and house its growing military force, warning that 13,000 new recruits expected this year may have no accommodation.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday when members of the Senate Committee on Army visited the Army Headquarters, Oluyede said the envelope budgeting model currently used to fund the Armed Forces is inadequate for present-day challenges.
“The Army is overstretched. We are bringing in thousands of new personnel this year, but we don’t have the facilities to house them,” he said. “Even now, many of our soldiers don’t have proper accommodation, and that number keeps rising.”
He appealed to lawmakers to push for special funding provisions outside the envelope system, especially to address accommodation and logistics gaps.
“This country cannot afford to wait until there’s an external threat before realising the cost of underfunding the military,” he said. “I’m appealing for a more realistic and flexible funding model to meet the needs of our troops.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, acknowledged the Army’s financial limitations and said the committee supports removing the Armed Forces from the restrictive envelope budget format.
“The Nigerian Army should be funded differently. It’s not just another agency; it carries the responsibility of defending the entire country,” Yar’Adua said. “We’ve seen the gaps ourselves during our visits to Army units across the states.”
He confirmed that the committee had conducted oversight inspections in Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Lagos, assessing progress on projects funded in the current budget.
“Some of the work is on track, but we also flagged areas needing attention. We’ll follow up on these issues with the Chief of Army Staff and the Ministry of Defence,” he added.
Yar’Adua said the committee is planning another round of oversight visits before the end of the year to track how funds from the 2025 Appropriations Act are being used.
