Security sector gets more funding to strengthen workforce

As the Gbajabiamila-led House of Representatives resumed legislative activities, providing funds to recruit and train new security operatives in the 2021 and 2022 budgets top of the agenda of the lawmakers in its revised legislative agenda document.

With increased budgetary allocation for the security sector in Nigeria, there is a corresponding growth in the recruitment and training of security operatives.

In December 2021, the Nigerian Army enlisted 5,800 recruits as part of its effort to protect the country’s territory. Similarly, the Nigerian Police Force also began the documentation process for 10,000 police constables recruitment into the service of the Nigeria Police Force in a bid to strengthen the police force early this year.

During the budget defence on the floor of the house by Major General Stephen Olabanji, the commander, Training and Doctrine Command of the Nigerian Army, he informed the house that the force is expected to commission about 3,885 cadets into the officers' cadre in 2022. He also said the army would enlist about 18,000 other ranks and a further special forces training of about 4,800 among those commissioned and other ranks cadre which is an increase from the previous years.

Between 2021 and 2022, there has been an increase in the budgetary allocation for the security sector. In 2021, 1.97 trillion naira was approved as the security budget with an additional N802 billion added to the approved budget from the N983 billion supplementary budget, which was later appropriated for by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Further, a total of 85 billion was approved for Police Trust Fund, an agency set up for training and retraining of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in the 2021 fiscal year (N11 billion and N74 billion in March and June respectively).

Similarly, in the N17.13 trillion approved budget for the 2022 fiscal year, a total of N2.41 trillion, which represents 15 per cent of the entire budgetary projections, was earmarked for security and defence including training and recruitments of security operatives.

With the increased funding for security in 2021 and 2022, and recruitment exercises by the army, police and other security operatives, we rate this Promise Kept.