House of Reps confirms mass resignation of soldiers in Nigerian Army
- The mass resignation of soldiers in the Nigerian Army is a source of worry for Nigerian federal lawmakers
- The lawmakers are now pushing for viable welfare packages *for soldiers as a way of motivating them
- A committee report in the House of Representatives outlined the recommendations given to the Nigerian Army to address the issue
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The House of Representatives has confirmed media reports that there has been mass resignation of soldiers in the Nigerian Army.
A total of 356 troops of the Nigerian Army were reported to have resigned from the service in July 2020, but military authorities denied it.
Source: Twitter
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Channels TV reports that findings of the House committee on the army made public on Tuesday, March 2 indicate that the reports were authentic.
To stem the tide, lawmakers in the green chambers called for improved welfare for troops and effective delivery of welfare packages across the ranks of the Nigerian Army.
They shared their thoughts on the issue during plenary after the chairman of the committee, Abdulrazak Namdas presented the report.
Namdas, however, stated that it was not new for such resignations to happen as it occurred almost annually in the military.
According to him, the recommendations of the report were based on the fact that the soldiers that resigned were mostly citing poor welfare as being the main reason for wanting to leave the service of the army.
He stressed the need for the Nigerian government to ensure military personnel were well motivated to defend the nation’s territory and overcome security threats – home or abroad.
Part of the recommendations of the report read:
“That there should be effective monitoring or follow up in the delivery of the welfare packages in all the army formations to ensure that they reach out to all the beneficiaries (the soldiers) in a fair and equitable manner.”
Meanwhile, the president-general of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Professor George Obiozor, has frowned on the use of force by the Nigerian military during the crisis in Orsu in Orlu zone of Imo state.
According to Professor Obiozor who is a former Nigerian ambassador to the United States of America, applying force to tackle the crisis will amount to national catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the federal and state governments in Nigeria have recommitted themselves to addressing the mounting insecurity in the country.
At a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday, February 18 presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, the governments agreed to ensure swift investigation, arrest, and prosecution of crime perpetrators.
According to the resolution of the council sent to Legit.ng by Laolu Akande, spokesman of VP Osinbajo, both the federal and state governments agreed that the protection of all residents of all states including non-indigenous communities and religious and ethnic minorities is sacrosanct.
Jerrywright Ukwu is an Abuja-based senior political/defence correspondent at Legit.ng. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He spends his leisure-time reading history books. He can be reached via email at jerrywright39@yahoo.com.
Source: Legit.ng
