Disappointed that troops of the Nigerian Army (NA) were still receiving N1,500 as their daily Ration Cash Allowance (RCA), the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has announced an upward review to N3,000 from March ending.

The COAS revealed this while addressing officers and soldiers of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lagos, at the 9th Brigade Parade Ground in Ikeja.

Oluyede is on a duty tour of project sites within the 81 Division’s area of responsibility.

Assuring the troops of his commitment to bettering their welfare, the COAS acknowledged that many serving Warrant Officers do not own a house they would retire to.

He said the service has introduced a housing scheme to address the accommodation needs of retiring officers, so that they would have a roof over their heads upon retirement.

“I am going to build on what my predecessors have done in improving the welfare of our personnel. I am sure you are all aware of our initiatives.

“In December, under the Nigerian Army Housing Scheme, we unveiled the first set of houses in Abuja. As I speak, we are beginning a new set in Ibadan.

“We have also secured land for another set in Jos. Additionally, we are developing housing units in Port Harcourt, Owerri, and Akwa Ibom states.

“This will ensure a widespread distribution of houses that soldiers can subscribe to. You will all agree with me that there is nowhere in Nigeria where you can buy a two- or three-bedroom house for as low as N8 million.

“This is a significant investment by the Army to ensure you have a comfortable post service life. In fact, we are accelerating the process so that more personnel can benefit. I want you to believe in this system because it is worthwhile,” he said.

Oluyede also said the service has introduced a-three per cent interest loan for soldiers in need, to enable them undertake projects of their choice.

“As for the loan scheme, it comes with just a 3% interest rate. If you go to banks, the lowest interest rate you will find is around 25%. We have deliberately kept our rate low to make it accessible. More funds will be injected into the scheme, so if you have pressing financial needs, you are encouraged to apply.

“However, I want to advise that if you don’t truly need it, or if you are not in urgent need, it’s best not to take it. It is easy to obtain but difficult to repay. That said, it is available to you, it is your right, and you can apply for it at any time. Once approved, you will receive it as quickly as possible,” he said.

On soldiers paying for their uniforms out of pocket, the COAS said it was concerning, revealing that distribution of about 100,000 kits monthly had commenced.

“We have allocated uniforms to smaller divisions. The next phase will cover the 82nd Division. Once we complete distribution there, we will proceed here and issue more uniforms. I can assure you that before the end of the year, you will likely receive another set.

“As soon as we acquire more, you will get them. However, I want to emphasize that obtaining uniforms is not an easy process,” Oluyede said.

With the various welfare packages to boost their morale, Oluyede urged personnel to remain committed to their duties, stressing that more was expected of them.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned further proceedings in the trial of a former acting Accountant General of the Federation (AG-F), Chukwunyere Nnabuoku till March 13 to enable him make another attempt at plea bargain.

Nnabuoku is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended monday laundering charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, in which he is accused among others, of diverting about N868.4millon public funds.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Nnabuoku committed the said offence while serving as a Director of Finance and Account in the Federal Ministry of Defence.

Nnabuoku was earlier arraigned with Felix Nweke (who worked under him in the Federal Ministry of Defence.

On October 14, 2024 both defendants opted for a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC, which was eventually not carried through.

The prosecution subsequently amended the charge and listed Nnabuoku as the sole defendant, with Nkweke as one of its witnesses.

At the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, Nnabuoku’s lawyer, Isidore Udenko said he was no longer the lead defence counsel, adding that Norrison Quakers (SAN) was now leading him.

Udenko told the court of his client’s intention to further take another shot at plea bargain.

He then prayed the court to grant an adjournment to enable the defendant explore the plea bargain option.

When asked by the trial judge, Justice James Omotosho if he was still part of the defendant’s legal team, Udenko said:

“I am part of the team my lord. But at this point, I am under superior authority. I wish my Lord can understand my helpless state.

“The SAN asked me to plead with the court to give him just one opportunity.

“Definitely in the next adjourned date, he will be here. We know that my lord has been diligent and we are determined to be diligent on our part,” Udenko said.

The prosecuting lawyer, Keele Iheanacho (SAN) expressed disappointment that he was made to bring his witnesses to court only for the defence to stall proceedings.

Iheanacho later agree to Udenko’s request, following which Justice Omotosho warned that he would not condone any further adjournment in the case.

The judge said he would take a decision if there is a repeat of the incident.

Candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2023  governorship election in Kogi State, Otunba Olayinka Braimoh, has said that the precarious economic situation which has resulted in the exodus of economically viable youths outside the country can only be reversed by visionary leadership. 

Citing the specific case of Kogi State, in an interview in Abuja, Braimoh noted that “We look at Kogi as one of the poorest states because the assets it has that are not converted to wealth, which is why people are dying of poverty. 

“So, changing the narrative requires having a visionary leader at the helm of affairs” He added.

He said it is the absence of visionary leadership to tap the vast resources that has pushed many to embrace the “japa” syndrome to which millions of human resources have been lost.

“Today, what are we battling with? We are battling with “japa” and so many parents today are crying deep inside of them because their children are lost forever, disconnected from their roots. They don’t want to come home and they will never come home.

Why because there’s no home to come back to because of lack of visionary leadership”
The governorship aspirant said a key embarrassing situation was the movement of Nigerian leaders to Kigali (Rwanda) for meeting.

According to him, if it’s resources are well harnessed, Kogi can run independent of Nigeria without having to depend on federal allocations. 

“So in terms of our resources, Kogi can run independently of Nigeria. I mean Kogi is bigger than Rwanda in terms of land area. Our resources are more than the resources Rwanda has. So what are we talking about? The resources we have in Kogi State is way more than the resources Rwanda has. 

“Look, Rwanda has a population of about 12.5million people. Right? Kogi has a population of about 4.5million people. So what does that suggest to you? When we’re talking about per capita, does that not mean that an average person in Kogi should be richer than an average person in Rwanda? We’re talking about visionary leadership” Braimoh noted.

He lamented that “Nigerians are going to Rwanda. Our governors went to do meeting in Kigali for God’s sake. We have Agbaja Plateau in Kogi. We have Mount Plati. All of these places not developed due to lack of visionary leadership.Now, imagine if we’re able to develop all of these things, you will have the conference right there.

We have Oni Dam, we have Oraha, we have Obangogo and several other tourist locations that can host World-class conferences because we can have conference facilities to host any events, a whole lot of these things”.

Accordingly to him, “In terms of urban development, the kind of designs that we do, the kind of layouts that we do, visionary leadership is the only thing that is required because without visionary leadership, all of these things will keep eluding us. They’ve been eluding us for long”