The House of Representatives at its plenary session on Tuesday, 30 January 2018 urged the Ministries of Defence, Justice, Power, Works and Housing to collaborate with Service Chiefs in proffering a lasting solution to the acute shortage of befitting accommodation-facing members of the Armed Forces.
Presenting the motion on the floor of the House Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki (APC: Sokoto) noted that there was a unanimous concurrence among well-meaning Nigerians that members of the Armed Forces had consistently stood by the country and its citizens in discharging its constitutional responsibilities. He also lauded the Armed Forces for their role in easing conflict during Nigeria’s civil war, the militancy in the Niger Delta, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and for advertising Nigeria’s credentials in international politics through its participation in various peacekeeping missions around the world and regional action during the Western Sahara crisis and the complex conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Speaking further, the lawmaker drew attention to some press reports highlighting some of the acute welfare challenges that members of the Armed Forces faced, particularly in the area of accommodation. According to these reports, the accommodation shortage was so severe that some senior officers were forced to share accommodation with friends and relatives while others were placed in rented accommodation or paired to share accommodation around the country. He also noted that the reason being cited for this “national embarrassment” was related to logistics as more personnel had to be recruited to meet up with the military’s demand on multiple fronts of security challenges facing the country such as insurgency.
Hon. Dasuki stated that the measures taken to ameliorate the situation appeared to be inadequate and highlighted the admission of one Major General Austin Okoh who lamented the slow rate of resolving the accommodation problem and who described the residences given to members of the Armed Forces as “inadequate and grotesque” despite the colossal sums appropriated every year in the Federal Budget and other initiatives undertaken by the Federal Government such as in the establishment of the Presidential Committee on Barracks Rehabilitation. He stated that Major Okoh made this statement on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff.
Finally, he called on the House of Representatives to exercise its role of oversight in resolving this issue so that members of the Armed Forces could focus on their responsibility of protecting the country from external aggression and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order as enshrined under section 217 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The House also mandated its Committees on Defence, Army, Navy, Air Force, Justice and Housing to liaise with the Ministries of Defence, Power, Works and Housing, Justice and Service Chiefs with a view to appraising and monitoring their progress in resolving the issue. The Committees are to report back within three (3) weeks for further legislative action.
