Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

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The House of Representatives has said it will address the poor allocation to the Nigeria Navy in the 2020 budget estimates.
The chairman of the House Committee,  Yusuf Gadgi, stated this on Wednesday  while addressing journalists after a budget defence session with the Nigerian Navy.
Gadgi noted that the allocation of the service in the 2019 budget was nothing to write home about,  as it got zero allocation for capital projects.  He added that in the 2020 budget proposal, the Navy was also allocated a paltry sum.
Consequently, the lawmaker said that “from the presentation, the money is nothing to write home about. So, we will sit as a committee to find a way of supporting all the armed forces to ensure that the security of lives and properties of Nigerians is guaranteed.
“The 2019 budget has zero ‎allocation in terms of capital. So we don’t have any comment about that.
“No matter how you hate agencies and department of governments, if government does not release money to them, what question or what explanation are you going to give?
“Our prayer is the fulfilment of what Mr President said, that he will release 30 or 40 percent during his presentation. When those funds are released, committees are at liberty to ask questions at any point in time.
“That is when we will have something ‎to say about 2019 budget performance. We are moving a motion on the floor of the House that committees on security need to be funded.
“Like any other armed forces in Nigeria, the Nigerian Navy is of strategic importance to the economy of this great nation, embedded in its traditional role of securing our waterways and maritime industry,” he stated.
Earlier, the Chief of Naval Staff,  Ibok Ibas, had told the committee that the service needed more vessels to combat insecurity in the waterways.
“Though the Federal Government has in recent time done its best but to enhance the Navy’s effort at fighting insecurity and defending the country against oil theft and other Naval related crimes, we are in dear need of more vessels in fighting crime on our water ways,” he stated.