FG Slashes Budget Proposal Of The Police By N92.9bn Amidst Rising Insecurity
The Federal Government has slashed the budget proposed by the Nigeria Police Force by almost N93bn, a situation which the security outfit has warned may frustrate its efforts towards effectively tackling the growing insecurity in the country.
The National Assembly was requested by the police to exempt the NPF from the government’s envelope budgeting system, which was largely responsible for the slash.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, lamented the Budget Office of the Federation’s reduction of the outfit’s proposed budget from N889,681,595,517.74 to N796,785,034,379.56 and warned of its impact on the security outfit and its consequences for the nation in a presentation to the National Assembly.
As he defended the NPF’s proposed budget in the 2023 Appropriations Bill on Tuesday, Baba informed the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Police Affairs of this.
The portions of his presentation to the MPs on Saturday were seen by our correspondent.
The Armed Forces are responsible for defending the country’s territorial integrity from external agression, while the police are mandated to be in charge of internal security.
However, a number of security committees of the National Assembly and the Service Chief have voiced their displeasure on various times with the military’s involvement in internal affairs in nearly all of the 36 states of the federation.
For instance, Babajimi Benson, the chairman of the House Committee on Defense, stated on November 9, 2021, that the Armed Forces were performing their obligations despite their restricted resources following a 2022 budget defense session with the Defense Space Administration.
“In Nigeria, everyone calls the Armed Forces if there is a kidnapping or banditry. Our Armed Forces are taking on roles that are typically filled by the police, he partially stated.
In the meantime, the budget has set aside more than N1.248 trillion for the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces.
The Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, and the Nigerian Navy would receive the largest share of the record military budget, with N638,108,156,198, N174,423,669,604, and N158,790,615,183, respectively, out of the 18 military and defense organizations allotted the total amount.
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