The House of Representatives has called for improved welfare for troops, as well as effective delivery of welfare packages across the ranks.
This was the position of the lawmakers during plenary on Tuesday at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.
They made the call following the findings and recommendations of a report of the House Committee on Army.
A total of 356 troops of the Nigerian Army were reported to have resigned from the service in July 2020, a development that sparked controversy from various quarters.
The soldiers were said to have tendered their resignations at the time because they had lost interest in the job due to poor welfare and claims that the army was not well equipped to battle insurgents.
This caught the attention of the lawmakers who deliberated on the matter and mandated the House Committee on Army to carry out a thorough investigation on July 14, 2020.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the committee, Abdulrazak Namdas, stated that it was not new for such resignations to happen as it occurred almost annually in the military.
He explained that 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.
The lawmaker 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.
