The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Monday said the total allocation of N595.02 billion in the 2025 budget estimates was grossly inadequate for a sector charged with the responsibility of tackling key aspects of the security challenges facing Nigeria.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ahmed Satomi, made the observation during a budget defence engagement with Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), saying that while the allocation was laudable, “may I however note that the intelligence subsector appears to be grossly underfunded going by the total allocation of N595,024,943,368 billion to the subsector.
“It is imperative to note that the 2025 Budget 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 programs etc will have to be carried out as major non kinetic initiative by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with other tiers of government.
“In the light of the above, it is therefore not encouraging to note 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.”
The lawmaker said submissions before the committee was heartbreaking that an agency like the National Centre for Counter Terrorism has not gotten any capital release for year 2023 and year 2024, as was also the case with The National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSSALW) and poor releases to others within the sector.
“I am therefore calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to please intervene not just for an increase in the allocations to the agencies in the intelligence sector, but to also direct the Hon. 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 going forward,” he said.
In his presentation, the permanent secretary, Special Services Office, who represented office of the NSA, Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma, said the proposed budget is tailored towards addressing the evolving security challenges facing the country.