House Investigates Non-payment of Allowances to Army Personnel from 2017

Adedayo Akinwale

The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into the non-payment and under utilisation of non-regular allowances of army personnel from 2017 despite increment in budgetary provision for the allowances in 2020 and 2021.

The decision of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved by Hon. Abubakar Nalaraba at the plenary yesterday.

Moving the motion, the lawmaker recalled the significant upward review of non-regular allowance of the Nigerian army in 2017 to ensure that serving army personnel are adequately remunerated and motivated for optimum performance in provision of adequate security in the country.

The lawmaker noted that the non-regular allowance, which includes payments such as first 28 days allowance, operations allowance and duty tour allowance of soldiers and officers, was necessitated to mitigate the effects of current economic realities on the welfare of troops and the entire personnel of the Nigerian army.

Nalaraba said the increment was captured in the Manual of Finance Administration (MAFA) and approved for implementation by President Muhammadu Buhari on January26, 2018.

He said: “Despite the increment in budgetary provision for non-regular allowances from N283 billion in 2020 to about N380 billion in 2021, the welfare of army personnel has not felt the corresponding effect and personnel of Nigerian army involved in internal security operations, training and performance of other military duties, who are still being owed various types of non-regular allowances.”

The lawmaker pointed out that the country is besieged by several security challenges and the Nigerian army is currently saddled with internal security operations, which include anti-insurgency operations in the North-east, anti-banditry operations in the North-west, anti-bunkering in the South-south and anti-kidnapping across the country.

The House, therefore, mandated its Committee on Army to investigate the disbursement of non-regular allowances to army personnel from 2017 till date and report back to the House in four weeks.