By Victor Akaa, Abuja.
The Headquarters Nigerian Army (NA) has described the corruption claims and alleged three months of nonpayment of troops’ Ration Cash Allowance (RCA) published in some online media platforms as misleading, incorrect, misrepresentation of facts and should be disregarded by all.
The Director, of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu disclosed this in a statement on Monday and warned the general public to disregard the allegation, noting that the leadership of Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja has a “zero tolerance posture for any form of financial misappropriation and is strongly aversed to any action inimical to the morale of troops.”
General Nwachukwu noted that contrary to the abovementioned claims by the troops deployed to provide security to Chinese nationals working at the ongoing Zungeru Hydro Electricity Dam Project in Niger state, by their erstwhile General Officer Commanding, Major General Alabi and Brigadier General Jamiu Jimoh, the current leadership of the NA considers the welfare of its personnel a top priority to boost its fighting capabilities for operational effectiveness and proficiency.
“Much as the NA understands the concern raised by the online media regarding these allegations, we wish to state unequivocally that, under the leadership of Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, the welfare of troops takes a premium place amongst other important schemes and considerations, as it is one of the vital pillars of his Command Philosophy, which is to provide “Sound Administration” for personnel of the NA.
“The NA therefore has zero tolerance posture for any form of financial misappropriation and is strongly aversed to any action inimical to the morale of troops,” he noted.
The statement however said, contrary to the insinuations made in the online report, preliminary investigation reveals that troops deployed at the Chinese Company in Niger state have always been paid in tranches by the NA on receipt of the funds from the institution concerned. Accordingly, the last tranche payment of RCA by the affected institution for the troops deployed, elapsed on 28 February 2023.
“While the next tranche of payment is being processed, Army Headquarters has paid the troops covering the period 1 March – 30 June 2023 in a bid to ameliorate the operating conditions of the troops and keep them at par with deployments elsewhere.
“Additionally, to cushion the effect of the tranche mode of payment, provision was made to feed the troops daily and this has been a routine. The troops’ RCA was therefore not diverted by any of the senior officers named in the publication or anyone else, as wrongly portrayed.
“Suffice to state, that the NA remains committed to upholding integrity, transparency and accountability in the administration of the welfare of troops in all its operations and other endeavours, as contained in the Command Philosophy of the Chief of Army Staff “To Transform the NA into a Well-Trained, Equipped and Highly Motivated Force towards Achieving Our Constitutional Responsibilities within a Joint Environment, ” he added.
