Poverty, unemployment, ideological radicalisation fuel insecurity, says Reps committee

“The era of input-focused budgeting without commensurate impact is no longer acceptable. What Nigerians expect - and what this Committee insists upon - are clearly defined outputs and outcomes that reflect operational effectiveness and institutional efficiency.

“It is important to emphasise that contemporary security challenges are dynamic and cannot be addressed through kinetic approaches alone. While military operations remain essential in degrading and deterring violent threats, experience has shown that sustainable peace requires a complementary non-kinetic strategy.

“Issues such as poverty, youth unemployment, illiteracy, weak local governance, misinformation, community grievances, and ideological radicalisation continue to fuel insecurity across different parts of the country.

“Consequently, this Committee strongly advocates a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to national security where we invest significantly in Strategic Communication to counter extremist ideologies and win the hearts and minds of vulnerable communities. We must also fund community peacebuilding architectures that foster local intelligence, dialogue and reconciliation. We must bolster cyber defence capabilities to protect our digital sovereignty.

“We must enhance Defence Intelligence Infrastructure for pre-emptive action. Furthermore, we must see investment in Border Security Technology, Police Reforms, and Inter-Agency Data Fusion Centres as critical force multipliers.

“We must also encourage collaboration with relevant ministries, departments and agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. The 2026 budget proposals before us must convincingly demonstrate a holistic balance between the sword and the ploughshare - between military might and the tools for sustainable peace”.

Benson said further that the budget must clearly align with national security priorities and ongoing reforms in the defence sector, adding that submissions should be realistic, well-justified, and performance-driven.

He said, “We will pay close attention to personnel welfare, training and capacity development, equipment maintenance and modernisation, intelligence capabilities, logistics, and the sustainability of ongoing operations. Recurring issues such as abandoned projects, procurement inefficiencies, and delays in budget implementation must be decisively addressed.

“Let me also reiterate that oversight remains a core responsibility of this Committee. Appropriations approved by the National Assembly are public funds, and we shall continue to track their utilisation to ensure compliance with the Appropriation Act and extant financial regulations.

“Accountability is not a punitive exercise; it is a shared obligation that strengthens public trust and enhances institutional credibility. Our oversight is therefore not an obstacle but a necessary catalyst for efficiency and effectiveness. We stand ready to advocate for the resources you genuinely require to succeed. However, this partnership is predicated on mutual transparency, a shared vision, and an unyielding commitment to results”.

He reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the House to the peace, unity and security of our nation, adding that the House Committee on Defence stands ready to support all genuine efforts aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s defence capabilities by deepening local defence production, enhancing research and development, improving personnel welfare and modernising Nigeria’s defence architecture, while promoting efficiency, transparency and strategic innovation.

These efforts, he said, are driven by our conviction that a strong, professional, and well-motivated military is indispensable to national stability. This budget defence session should therefore be seen not merely as a routine legislative requirement, but as a collective opportunity to recalibrate our approach to securing Nigeria today and safeguarding her future.

Giving an overview of the current situation in the country, Gen. Oluyede said an arrangement has been concluded to deploy a special force to Kwara and part of Niger to tackle the current surge of insecurity in the area, adding, however, that the Armed forces alone cannot address the situation.

He said, “We will be doing everything within our best to ensure that Nigeria gets safer. As we speak, things are much better in the North East, but in the northwest, we have huge challenges. The same applies to some parts of the North Central, talking about Benue and Plateau, even up to Kwara. But we're evolving modalities to checkmate all these challenges within the ambit of the resources available to us.

“For instance, yesterday, a new set of special forces was drafted to Benue and Plateau. We are about to inaugurate another joint task force that will cover Kwara specifically and some parts of Niger. It is going to be strengthened to ensure that the area gets better. The joint task force will be code-named Savannah Shield. We are trying to see how we can pull resources from other places to ensure that we cover that part.

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“Now, we have new challenges. You're all aware that we are partnering with some allied countries to support us, because we have shortcomings in some areas, like gathering intelligence. After all, we don't have the platform. But when they come, we'll get better intelligence, and we're acting on it as we get those feedbacks from them.

They've been quite helpful, but we're trying to see how we can streamline the ones that are coming, because we can't partner with everybody, and even in partnering, we need to streamline the activities within Nigeria, so that we can ensure that our sovereignty is not in any way affected.

“So we are very much aware of that, and we are doing it within the guidelines given to us by Mr President. We expect that, if we are supported more, we should be able to make Nigeria safer. But there are some other things that will need to be done by Nigerians generally. The Armed Forces of Nigeria can't cover everywhere.

“So, we need to enhance the capacity of other security agencies, especially the police force and the civil defence, because they have more men, they have better reach. So it's important for us to ensure that these institutions are strengthened for Nigeria to be safer.

“As we speak, if you go by the strength of the Armed Forces or the total strength of the armed forces, it is not possible for us to deploy everywhere in Nigeria. I am emphasizing the fact that these institutions need to be strengthened generally, so that when we have cleared an area, then these other agencies can cover those gaps for us, because, as we speak, what we are doing is moving from one theatre to another”.

“The soldiers don't have rest because we don't have the numbers, even though people will say, ' Why not recruit more? But there is more that is attached to that. For example, if you are recruiting, you have to think about how to house them, how to keep them.