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Proposed Army housing scheme upsets soldiers as they petition Buhari
A group of soldiers including senior officers have rejected the proposed Nigerian Army Welfare Housing Scheme, which they describe as fraudulent.
They have sent a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari pleading with him to halt the scheme, which would see to the deduction of between N15,000 and N49,000 from their salary monthly, depending on their ranks.
They also claimed that some policies and officers in some ways had subjected them and their families into unnecessary suffering and hunger.
The open letter co-signed by 05NA/57/2084 SGT Yusuf Shetima,04NA/55/0925 CPL James Ibok, 09NA/62/5578 LCPL Danladi Ibrahim,11NA/66/10622 LCPL Afolabi Showumi and 13NA/70/11034 PTE Lucky Dolph, accused some officers of “eating fat” while they starved.
But Director Army Public Relations Officer Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima, said there was no such thing as Nigerian Army Welfare Housing Scheme.
He said, “We don’t have anything like that.”
The letter read in part: “On behalf of the entire Non-Commissioned Officers and the Senior Non commissioned Officers, we write to reject the proposed plan of the Nigerian Army to further increase their tempo in a way of continuous swindling and to put us and our family into persistent suffering of hunger and starvation.”
They said following the high rate of inflation, it had become difficult for the NCO and the SNCO to feed their families or pay school fees from their meagre salary.
“Yet, the Nigerian Army has devised a means of taking or collecting it back from us the Scarce Skill Allowance (SSA) under the guise of a useless, fraudulent and so called Nigerian Army Welfare Housing Scheme (NAWHS).
“It is pertinent to note that the Army cannot exist or stand in the absence of the NCO and the SNCO, but the Army can stand or exist and function effectively without the commissioned officers.
“This is to say that the SNCO and the NCO are the pillars or the Nigerian Army and without them the NA cannot exist and yet, there suffer the most.”
It added, “The NCO and the SNCO are not well paid and yet the Army wants to deduct a whopping sum of #15,410.30k, #16,703.92k, #17,103.92k, #18,868.97k, #21,516.27k, #26,732.74k, #30,000.00k and 49,086.49k on monthly basis and according to the rank respectively.
“After this deduction, they still want us to feed and also buy our military uniforms from the remaining change.
“The said the officers do not have regard for the welfare of soldiers
“The officers of the NA are happy seeing us the NCO and the SNCO suffering all the days of our life, there can never and will never come up with a good plan that will ever benefit the other ranks instead, they prefer to cheat without regards to our suffering.
“We are using this medium to call on the Federal Government, the House of Representatives, the Senate and all other stakeholders to come to our aid and stop the Army under the leadership of Lt Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru from the proposed fraudulent plan. And if there must continue, it must not be compulsory.”
News
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi has hailed President Bola Tinubu for the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
He told reporters on Friday in Abuja that the President acted in the best interest of the State and Nigeria, having taken his decision in compliance with the Constitution.
“No President or government worth a name, will fold its arms and watch a political situation deteriorate to what we saw unfolding in Rivers State.
“We saw that bombing of pipelines had begun, and the security situation was getting worse with the tension everywhere”, Karimi stated.
Karimi, who represents Kogi-West on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalled the “fatherly role” Tinubu had played in the crisis since 2023 in a bid to get the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to reach an understanding, to no avail.
He explained: “We were all here in 2023 when Mr President called that truce meeting at the Aso Rock Villa. There was the eight-point agenda for settlement reached between the factions.
“When Nigerians expected that progress should be made to achieve peace, things started deteriorating considerably to a point where the governor demolished the House of Assembly building and administered the state with only three legislators.”
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Karimi observed that with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave the upper hand to the 27 lawmakers loyal to the camp of the FCT Minister, matters merely got worse in the State as the lawmakers were set to impeach the Governor.
“What did you expect would be the implications? There would have been more destruction, killings and economic losses for the country.
“With the bombings that had already started, it was a matter of time before the whole state would be engulfed in flames. No responsible President would sit, arms folded, and allow that to happen “ he added.
The senator further argued that it took “painstaking efforts” by the administration to raise daily crude oil production to around 1,800 barrels, noting that Nigeria’s economy was already “witnessing a rebound under the renewed hope projects of the government.”
“Allowing the situation in Rivers to get worse before he would act, wouldn’t have helped the state or Nigeria as a country in any way.
“Mr. President intervened at the right time, and his actions are covered by law,” he said.
Karimi also spoke on the emergency declaration in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and a couple of other states by former President Goodluck Jonathan without removing the Governors from office or suspending the state assemblies.
According to him, the case with those States was not generated by political crises but rather security concerns.
“So, I will advise those comparing the two scenarios to remember that one was purely about security threats resulting from the insurgency caused by Boko Haram, while that of Rivers is clearly political.
“It was the proper thing to do to suspend the political actors in the two factions to allow for tensions to diffuse. Nigerians should appreciate the President for the action he has taken so far,” he stated.
Sen. Karimi also noted that there was no cause for alarm as the National Assembly had indicated that the emergency rule could be reviewed as soon as there were signs that things could quickly normalise in Rivers State.
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
News
Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibas
Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibok-ete Ibas
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (Retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
The administrator was sworn in on Wednesday after a short meeting with the President.
Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly members.
The President said his decision was based on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he could not continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking concrete action.
The suspension of Fubara and other elected representatives has been rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigerian Bar Association.
However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.
Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021.
He is from Cross River State where he had his early education.
The new sole administrator went to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979 from where he proceeded to have a successful career in the Navy, rising through the ranks to the very top.
He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff conferred him with the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2022.
News
Breaking: Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers State
Breaking: Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers State
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following the protracted political crisis in the state.
Tinubu made the declaration during a nationwide broadcast, saying it is for six months.
He announced the suspension of the Executive Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.
He immediately named an administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Retd), to take charge of the affairs of the state for the six-month period.
Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger or disaster in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures to regain control.
A state of emergency allows the President to immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety. (Channels TV)
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