The Federal Government has explained why it allocated 86 percent of the 2021 supplementary budget to security.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, in her explanation stated that the governance structures of any nation lacking adequate security architecture are vulnerable to collapse, thus posing a threat to sustainable development.

According to the finance minister, the Buhari administration has demonstrated strong commitment to sustainable development, governance and security, not only through global commitments, but also by the allocation of financial resources.

“The security agencies are prioritised in the allocation of our limited revenues and as an example, about 86 percent of the 2021 Supplementary Budget was dedicated to the capital and recurrent expenditure needs of the security agencies to supplement the allocations in the 2021 Amended Budget.”

The minister made this disclosure on Friday in Abuja when the leadership and participants of the National Institute for Security Studies (Executive Intelligence Management Course-EIMC 14) visited her at ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

Speaking on the importance of security, Ahmed noted that “they form a critical part of the super-structure on which economic growth and development can be achieved in any country.”

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She noted that “fragile and conflict-afflicted states lag behind in most development indicators, experiencing higher levels of malnutrition, child mortality and school completion rates.”

According to her, “a consensus has emerged recognising security as a precondition for sustainable development. Security agencies are an intrinsic and essential element of the governance structure of any nation with the level of security determining the sustainability of development”.

Reeling out African Development Bank (AFDB) figures to support her argument, the finance minister said “the annual global cost of conflict is estimated at $100 billion.”

The minister disclosed that the second phase of implementation of Project Lighthouse has been approved by the Federal Executive Council. According to her, “we have been able to aggregate N5.2 trillion worth of debts owed to government by third parties, of which N49.7 billion of this amount has been recovered.”

She explained that ‘Project Lighthouse’ is a data driven artificial intelligence engine that provides the ministry with an intelligence and profiling platform to aid in policy formulation, implementation and impact assessment.

“It enables the aggregation of data from a variety of sources to give us the capability to develop an intelligent data-driven revenue mobilisation model,” she added.

Speaking on the recent GDP figures, the finance minister described the 5.01 percent growth as encouraging.