…Seeks adequate funding, training for Armed Forces
Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ignore calls for the sack of his Service Chiefs.
The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army made the call in a statement yesterday.
Ndume’s advice to President Tinubu was on the heels of agitation for the removal of the Service Chiefs by a group, the Northern Ethnic National Forum.
Convener of the group, Dominic Alancha, had on Tuesday in a statement, claimed that the present crop of Service Chiefs lacked the professional capacity to drive the war against insurgency and banditry.
Insisting that the entire security architecture requires a fundamental overhaul, the Forum accused the service chiefs of failing to deliver despite huge security funding.
“We angrily and unequivocally demand the immediate dismissal and replacement of all service chiefs. The President must appoint fresh and innovative military leaders with a clear mandate and timeline for results”, it stated.
Ndume, however, maintained that what is required is adequate funding in terms of procurement of arms and ammunition and better remuneration of officers and men of the Armed Forces.
He said: “Those pushing for sack of the present crop of service chiefs have ulterior motives and they do not mean well for the present administration and Nigerians. I want to restate my call for a pro-active TEAM approach. Which means training, equipment, ammunition and motivation. These combinations would go a long way to counter terrorism, banditry and insurgency.
“It is outlandish and uncharitable for any group of individuals to accuse the present Service Chiefs of professional incompetence. All of them have the requisite training and experience in Theatre operations.
“All they need is adequate ammunition and motivation. The salary of a private army in Nigeria is about ₦100,000.00 ($67.00) per month. “Their daily allowance ( ₦5,000.00) is unconscionable and nothing to write home about.
“People should desist from pronouncements that could dampen the morale of our Soldiers and Officers on the field of operation”, he stressed.
Ndume also commended the present administration for what he called ‘its sense of ethno-religious balancing in the composition of the present security architecture’, unlike what was obtained in the recent past.
