The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence has urged the Federal Government to release the full capital allocation outlined in both the 2024 budget and the 2025 budget estimates for security agencies.
During the 2025 budget defense session for agencies under the Office of the National Security Adviser on Monday, the Chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ahmed Satomi, made this call.
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The lawmaker emphasized that intelligence agencies require adequate funding to effectively carry out their responsibilities. He disclosed that the capital allocation for some intelligence agencies in 2024 remains unreleased, while others have received only a small fraction of their allocation.
Satomi praised President Bola Tinubu for earmarking N4.91 trillion for defense and highlighted the importance of prioritizing the intelligence sub-sector in the 2025 fiscal year’s capital allocation.
He further mentioned that the intelligence sub-sector has been allocated N595 billion, with a proposed capital expenditure allocation of N274.55 billion, an overhead allocation of N107.96 billion and a personnel allocation of N212.51 billion.
He stated; “I am calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, to please intervene not just for an increase in the allocations to the agencies in the intelligence sector but to also direct the Minister of Finance to, as a matter of national security, prioritise the full release of all outstanding 2024 budget allocations to the intelligence agencies and sustain the practice of prompt releases to them going forward.
“It is imperative to note that the 2025 budget, proposal, is christened the ‘Budget of restoration: Securing peace, rebuilding prosperity.’
“Securing peace presupposes that a lot of engagements with citizens will be undertaken by the government at all levels.
“Deradicalisation, disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes etc, will have to be carried out as a major non-kinetic initiative by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with other tiers of government.”
“It is therefore not encouraging to observe that the frontline agencies saddled with statutory responsibilities of countering violent extremism, terrorism, ‘illicit flow of small arms and light weapons, intelligence gathering and analysis, maintenance of national security and ensuring the provision of safe, secure and efficient air transportation for the President, Vice President and other notable government officials are negligibly funded.
“Going by the submissions before the committee, it is heartbreaking that an agency like the National Centre for Counter-Terrorism has not gotten any capital release for the year 2023 and year 2024, Satomi said.”
In his earlier remarks, the Permanent Secretary of Special Services in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Danjuma, explained that the proposed 2025 budget is focused on addressing the country’s ongoing security challenges.
Danjuma assured the committee that the Tinubu-led government is dedicated to equipping the security agencies to gather intelligence more efficiently, among other vital roles.
He explained that the budget is designed to enhance coordination and collaboration, strengthening partnerships within security agencies to create a more unified and responsive security framework.
He remarked: “It is worth noting that the envelope system of budgeting provides many constraints in terms of resource allocation to the community. However, despite these challenges, the agencies strive to balance their operational requirements with the government’s fiscal limitations.”
He reassured Nigerians of the intelligence community’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and effective resource management, ensuring that budget allocations align with the government’s broader security goals.
Representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Directorate of State Services, National Intelligence Agency, and the Presidential Air Fleet also participated in the budget defense session.
Crediblenewsng.com
