Tag: defence

Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, on Wednesday, December 13, expressed confidence that the war against insecurity would be brought to an end.

However, he called for more money for the ministry to execute its activities in the various theatres of operation in the country.

Abubakar spoke when he appeared before the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Defence for the budget defence.

The minister, who pointed out the 2024 budget as it relates to the Ministry of Defence was N78, 581, 164, 993, said their aim was to ensure sustained and simultaneous operations in the theatres in the country.

He said: “Our aim is to have simultaneous operations in all our theatres. So that all of them would work so we would try as much as possible to end the insecurity at once instead of fighting it in one centre, and the bandits or the insurgents are moving to the other centre.”

This, he said, was the intent of the supplementary budget for the Ministry, and he assured the expenditure would be tracked.

He added: “I am sure that we would track expenditure and make sure money being appropriated is utilized fully and we would account as appropriate.”

Read Also: ‘We’ll end insurgency, terrorism simultaneously’ – Defence minister

“The ministry is totally committed to actualizing its core mandate. We seek the support of members of the House and the Senate. I appeal to the National Assembly to review upwards the Ministry’s overhead cost in view of the prevailing economic situation to help the Ministry function effectively. So the overhead is very low and we call for support.

“On the issue of the progress and if the war would end, I suggest that discussion we have in a closed-door meeting with joint committees where we will have all the services and operation theatres commanders. We would talk in a closed-door meeting and talk extensively on the operational areas and what we are doing, what we envisage would happen, but we believe we can end the war against insecurity.”

But we need to discuss this in a closed-door session and with all the services and the CDS and some of the operational theatres here, where you would ask questions and be satisfied with what we are doing currently. We will explain to you in detail what is happening across the theatres of operation.

He also expressed appreciation to the National Assembly for passing the DICON.

This, he said, facilitated the establishment of a local company that would be commissioned soon and that would employ about 1,500 Nigerians to produce items for the military.

The chairman of the joint committee, Ahmed Lawan, urged the Minister to do more to ensure the proper security of lives and property in the country.

He also said the National Assembly would probe the Safe Schools Initiative Project.

Permanent Secretary, Ibrahim Kana, had said the project was now domiciled with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior but was previously handled by the Ministry of Education.

He stated: “The project started with Gordon Brown the former prime minister of the United Kingdom but right now the project is fully funded by the Nigerian Government. Initially, it also started with the Ministry of Education with the thinking that it was an educational institutional activity but over time we realised that education cannot handle such a project so it gradually shifted from education to the various security agencies in the country, which includes the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior. Right now, those are the only two ministries responsible for the execution of the safe schools project in the country.”

Responding, Lawan said: “The committees on a later date would like to have a full discussion of how this initiative is being undertaken because now you are saying it is in different ministers and that is part of the bane of our successes in Nigeria. When it goes into various ministries and agencies, everybody protects his territory and at the end of the day, students are struggling all the time and there is no safety. If anything I think the safety has deteriorated. We should have a session to have full discussions on this. And with N2.5 billion, I mean it is quite some money, but it is not about the money. It is about getting the strategies right and getting every actor to act. So we would hold separate discussions on that.”

The chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Hon Babajimi Benson, in his welcome address commended the Ministry for sustaining the anti-terrorism fight in the country.

He said the 10th National Assembly’s commitment to ensuring that they support the Armed Forces to carry out their mandate to Nigerians.

Hon Benson also urged for prudent management of funds and resources from taxpayers calling on the ministry to make sure that the 2024 budget is judiciously utilized.

The Ministry of Defence intends to use its 2023 supplementary budget and part of its 2024 budget to end insurgency and terrorism simultaneously, the minister, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, said in Abuja on Wednesday.

“The purpose of the 2023 additional budget is to have simultaneous operations in all our theatres so we can end insecurity at once,’’ Badaru said.

He made the declarations while defending the ministry’s budget at a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on defence.

He said the ministry was determined to ensure that terrorists rooted from one location did not go to another to continue their heinous activities.

Badaru said he believed that the Federal Government would end the war, but would not disclose its strategies openly.

He commended the committees for always assisting the ministry in its resolve to end insecurity.

The minister noted that the ministry’s N78.58 billion appropriation for 2024 was higher than the N62.9 billion appropriation for 2023, and commended the National Assembly for its commitment to end insecurity.

He, however, called for an upward review of overhead costs in the 2024 budget in view of inflation and rising cost of diesel.

“We want you to help us to increase our overhead cost. We consume a lot of fuel, and I appeal that this be looked into,’’ he said.

In his submission, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, said the joint committee would work assiduously to scrutinise the ministry’s 2024 proposal.

He noted that security remained the backbone for education, the economy, and others to function, adding that more resources should be given to defence to handle insecurity.

Lawan noted also that it was not enough to approve money, but it was paramount to establish how such monies changed the situation.

“If you are given N100 billion; how has it improved the security situation in the country’’? he queried.

“It will not augur well to appropriate money without justification,’’ he stressed.

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The former Senate president commended security agencies for working hard to secure the country.

In his contribution, Rep. Babajimi Benson, Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, said the National Assembly would continue to make efforts to invest in security to ensure the growth and development of the country.

He said President Bola Tinubu had promised to ensure the security of all Nigerians irrespective of status, adding: “you must work to deliver the goal of the administration.’’

He assured that the committee would ensure that all allocated resources added value, adding that lawmakers were not unaware of the challenges faced by armed forces, including the recent bombing in Kaduna.

He promised that the committees would ensure adequate funding within available resources to respond to the desires of the military.

(NAN)

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, on Tuesday, November 21, raised hope about the better prospects of Aircraft maintenance in the country. 

He said with facilities on the ground, Caverton, can become a hub for aircraft maintenance in Africa.

 Abubakar commended Caverton Helicopters management for their vision and foresight in bringing the state-of-the-art facility to the country, thereby promoting economic growth and human capital development. 

The minister spoke on the import of maintenance during a facility tour of Caverton Helicopters’ Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) at the premises of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.

Badaru, who was the second minister to visit Caverton within a month, said he was impressed by the achievements of the company.

He said: “Our dream in the Ministry of Defence is to produce all the equipment that we need for Defence in Nigeria and, here at Caverton, I have seen proofs of assurance that we can partner to do it.

“I assure you that you have what it takes to produce what we need and we will partner. We are working tirelessly to make sure that in the next four years, most of the equipment we go abroad to buy will be produced locally. And from what I have seen with you, we can partner in areas of air assets.

The minister was received by the Chairman of Caverton Helicopters, Mallam Bello Gwandu, Chairman of Caverton Marine, Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, Chief Executive Officer of Caverton Offshore Support Group (COSG), Mr Olabode Makanjuola, and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Rotimi Makanjuola and other top management staff.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Kana, said: “While we were on the tour of the facility, my Honourable Minister said to me in Hausa: ‘Seeing is believing’. He came to Lagos to see what is on the ground especially at Caverton” in his getting set for the military-industrial complex take off. 

“He came, he saw and he is impressed by what he saw. He is a talk-and-do minister and will be ready to work especially with you.”

Makanjuola described the day of the visit as special because of the honour of “hosting a very distinguished guest in the person of the Honourable Minister of Defence for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (MON), Sardauna Ringim and Walin Jahun.”

Makanjuola spoke on the Caverton Offshore Support Group, which is to be a listed company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

He said the company “takes great pride in being the leading offshore support logistics company in Nigeria” with its subsidiaries, Caverton Marine and Caverton Helicopters, equally positioned as leaders in their respective fields. 

He added: “Caverton Marine started out in 1999 as a vessel owner, and operator and recently diversified into designing and building GRP boats ranging from passenger ferries to security boats. 

“Caverton Helicopters Limited is the largest indigenous aviation logistics support company in Nigeria, with over 2 decades of experience providing rotary and fixed-wing services to the oil and gas industry. We currently operate a mixed fleet of aircraft across multiple locations in Nigeria and West Africa.”

One of the key achievements of the company, he said, was the establishment of the MRO facility that he described as the only world-class in sub-Saharan Africa, right on the ground in Lagos, Nigeria.

Makanjuola further stated: “This facility has allowed us to deliver light and heavy maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to our clients. We are honoured to have had the opportunity to serve the Nigerian Navy, Air Force, and other government agencies, ensuring the safety and reliability of their aircraft.

“Furthermore, our Training Centre houses the first-ever full reality AW-139 simulator, as well as a to-be-commissioned AW-109 simulator. These simulators enable us to provide comprehensive and realistic training to our pilots, ensuring the highest standards of safety and operational excellence. We hope that the Honourable Minister will have a memorable and enlightening experience during his planned first flight in the AW 139 simulator. He also stated the company’s landmark achievements.

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“Our success at Caverton is built on the pillars of innovation, professionalism, safety, and unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction. We are proud of our achievements and the positive impact we have made in the Nigerian aviation and maritime sectors,” the CEO said.

Makanjuola said Carverton, which has its base in Caverton Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt, and Cameroon, would now extend its operations to the Gambia and Senegal.

He gave a brief about images in the MRO and training centres, saying the company has trained 200 pilots who are now flying here in Nigeria and in other countries.

The Director of Quality and Safety, Mr. Kofo Macaulay, gave a safety brief regarding the operations of Caverton after which presentations of gifts were made to the minister.

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a supplementary budget of N2.176 trillion presented to it by President Bola Tibubu on Tuesday, October 31.

A cursory look at the Bill showed that the Ministry of Defence got a lion’s share of the allocation in the sum of N476. 543 billion, followed by the Ministry of Works with N300billion, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security – N200 billion, Ministry of Housing – N100 billion, FCTA-N100 billion and Police Formations and Command got N50billion.

However, Service Wide Votes was allocated N615 billion, State House got N28 billion, while N210 billion was reserved for Capital Supplementation.

A report of the National Assembly Committees on Appropriation was presented to both chambers at plenary on Thursday by the Chairmen, Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC – Ogun West) and Hon. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar (APC, Kano) respectively.

In his presentation, Senator Adeola said the Supplementary Appropriation Bill seeks to provide additional palliative measures, including Wage Award for Public Servants and enhance the cash transfer programme which is intended to benefit the most vulnerable members of the society.

He said the Supplementary Budget will provide additional funds for critical defence expenditures urgently required for peace and the security of lives and property without which the government’s economic growth agenda cannot be achieved and critical investment in roads infrastructure whose projects must commence within the dry season.

On his part, Hon. Abubakar said the House Committee on Appropriation increased the budget for Defence from N456 billion to N546 billion, while also increasing allocation to Police Formations to N50 billion from the initial N27 billion.

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He said the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), got N100 billion, the Agriculture and Food Security – N200 billion, the State House N28billion, the Ministry of Housing got N100 billion, while the allocation for Service Wide Vote was reduced from N615 billion to N515 billion.

Hon. Abubakar also disclosed that the House has deleted the N5 billion earlier proposed for the Presidential Yacht under the allocation to the Nigerian Navy and added the money to the N5 billion initially allocated for the students’ loan scheme.

However, the Senate passed the allocation for the Presidential Yacht as proposed by the executive.

Also, the National Assembly allocated N210 billion for Wage Award for Civil Servants, N400billion for Cash Transfer to vulnerable households, N200 billion for Seed and Agricultural input and Equipment, and N100billion for Projects in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The Supplementary Budget as passed also includes the sum of N604billion for National Security and Defence, N300billion for the maintenance of bridges across Nigeria, N8billion for the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and other new Ministries as well as N18billion for the conduct of off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo states slated for November 11, 2023.

Presenting his report before the House, Hon. Abubakar, popularly known by his people as Abubakar Bichi informed the House that the report followed successful scrutiny by members of the committee.

He said the Bill was specifically structured to improve the country’s security, food security, and critical road infrastructure sectors and to bridge the housing deficit in the country, including slum upgrades and urban renewal.

He said: “It will also support the provisional wage to workers and cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians. It will also cater to the upcoming off-cycle elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States.”

Following the consideration of the reports of the Appropriation Committees of both chambers the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele and his counterpart in the House, Hon. Julius Ihonvbare, moved separate motions for the bill to be read for the third time and passed in both chambers respectively.

He said: “That the House do consider the Report of the Committee on Appropriations on a Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N2,176,791,286,033 only, of which N18 billion only is for Statutory Transfers, N1,033,471,162,373 only is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure while the sum of N1,125,320,123,660 only is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2023″

The National Assembly also passed all the clauses in the appropriation bill without amendment.

According to the clauses in the Supplementary Budget: “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall, when authorised to do so by Warrants signed by the Minister charged with responsibility for Finance, payout of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation during the year ending on the 31st day of December 2023, the sums specified by the warrants, not exceeding in the aggregate N2,176,791,286,033 only for the year ending on the 31st day of December 2023;

“The amount mentioned in subsection (1) of this section shall be appropriated to heads of expenditure as indicated in the Schedule to this Bill;

“No part of the amount aforesaid shall be released from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation after the end of the year mentioned in subsection (1) of this section.

“Release of funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund All amounts appropriated under this Bill shall be released from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation only for the purpose specified in the Schedule to this Bill.

“In the event that the implementation of any of the projects intended to be undertaken under this Bill cannot be completed without virement, such virement shall only be effected with the prior approval of the National Assembly.”

The Federal Government has said that it is its desire to quickly end the war against Boko Haram and bandits in order to accelerate economic prosperity of the country.

It said the desire to quickly end the war was also due to its economic cost on the country’s resources.

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, said this at the National Defence College Abuja yesterday while briefing newsmen on the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration (AFRDC).

Badaru said the Nigerian military would continue to conduct operations and exercise against adversaries with limited casualty from its side.

 He said despite some setbacks recorded during operations in recent times, the military was not deterred, but has continued to prosecute operations with resounding successes.

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The Minister said: “The successes recorded by our Armed Forces have only served as encouragement to persevere until victory is finally assured and all our displaced citizens return home.

“We therefore look forward to adopting a proactive approach to combating our security challenges by harnessing our intelligence resources and having strong partnership with our West African neighbours.

 “The Federal Government will also continue to equip the Armed Forces with combat capabilities, training and equipment with a view to reducing, to the barest minimum, casualties due to operations.

 “We are hopeful that the pledge and focus of Mr. President to bring an end to all the security challenges quickly will be realised.

 “We all have to realise and appreciate the need to quickly end this war to usher in an era of peace and mutual coexistence for the proactive development of our beloved fatherland.

“The losses occasioned by this war on insurgency in terms of human, infrastructure and material resources incurred by our country can only be imagined, hence the need for an end to the ugly scenario.”