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2024 budget: Senate/House Joint C'ttee meets Chief of Air Staff

Katsina City News
12 Dec, 2023
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The Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, on Tuesday, engaged the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) on the 2024 budget defence.

The Joint Committee is chaired by Senator Godiya Akwashiki and Hon. Alhassan Kabiru Rurum from Nasarawa and Kano States respectively.

At the session, held within the National Assembly, the Joint Committee requested the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar to give the breakdown of the 2023 budget performance before delving into the 2024 estimates.

The leadership of the Joint Committee noted that the 2023 budget performance would guide the lawmakers in reaching a decision on the 2024 estimates.

They expressed their readiness noting to help NAF enhance its operational capabilities and effective service delivery through budgetary provision.

Speaking, Senator Akwashiki from said the Joint Committee made efforts to hold a formal oversight meeting with his team to ask pertinent questions regarding operational logistics, equipment and staff welfare and to note areas of improvement and challenges. However, he said, the meeting could not hold due to Chief of Air Staff's busy schedules.

"We want the Chief of Air Staff to continue from where his predecessor stopped by speaking on the performance of the 2023 budget before we go into the 2024 estimates.

"We need to see and hear the areas of improvement, the areas where there are challenges and then proceed from there to appropriate line of actions," he said.

The Air Force Chief, in his response, apologized to the lawmakers for not being able to be available for earlier slated meetings due to service exigencies.

He gave the breakdown of the performance of the 2023 budget, noting that the allocation to the Nigeria Air Force was grossly inadequate, which was why they got additional funds in the 2023 supplementary budget passed by the National Assembly.

"Going forward, we really need to look at the 2024 budget and make sure that we have a budget that's robust enough to enable us deal with the insecurity that's prevalent around the country," he said.

The joint defence session resolved into a closed-door in view of the sensitivity of security issues.