Reps to investigate non-payment and underutilisation of allowances of the Nigerian Army

The House of Representatives has mandated its committee on the Army to investigate. It follows a motion by Ibrahim Hassan Nalaraba at plenary on Wednesday, which was adopted by the House.

Despite an increase in welfare budgetary allocations, the House of Representatives’ Army Committee has been charged with investigating the non-payment and underutilization of non-regular allowances by Nigerian Army personnel.
This came after Ibrahim Hassan Nalaraba’s motion on matters of urgent public importance was passed in plenary on Wednesday.
The budgetary provision for Non-Regular Allowances was increased from N283 billion in 2020 to around N380 billion in 2021, according to the lawmaker who presented the motion.
He regretted, however, that despite the increase in their welfare, Nigerian Army personnel engaged in internal security operations, training, and performance had not felt the same effect, and that other military duties were still owed various types of Non-Regular Allowances.

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He went on to say that the Nigerian Army’s Non-Regular Allowance was significantly increased in 2017 to ensure that serving Army personnel are adequately compensated and motivated to provide the best possible security in the country.

“Non-Regular Allowances, which include payments to soldiers and officers such as First 28 Days Allowance, Operations Allowance, and Duty Tour Allowance, were necessary to mitigate the effects of current economic realities on the welfare of troops and the entire Nigerian Army personnel.

“The increment was captured in the Manual of Finance Administration (MAFA) and approved for implementation on January 26, 2018 by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he said.

As a result, the House mandated that the committee investigate and report within four (4) weeks.