Senate to probe Military Pensions Board

 

The Senate has disclosed plans to institute full investigation into the Military Pensions Board after it resumes from recess. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Olamilekan Adeola, made the announcement on Tuesday during the defence of the budget report by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

During the session, an additional fund amounting to N20bn was requested for, towards the construction of a office building for the military pensions board, as well as the renovation of the phase 1 to 4 of the federal secretariat. The Chairman questioned the operations of the board, its budget and the number of retirees who reportedly receive payment.

Adeola stated that the Senate will resume next year with a probe into the board’s activities to put a halt to concerns of lack of transparency. The appropriation panel also frowned upon an additional N25bn request for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), when it received reports from the Chairman of the committee on anti-graft agencies, reminding that plans to merge the both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were still on the table.

Lamentations equally prevailed when it was the turn of the Chairman of Committee on Navy to present its harmonised report. The lawmakers asserted that the nation cannot tackle banditry with an approval of only N62bn out of the over 400 billion proposed. For the Senate Committee on Army, the Chairman, Abdulaziz Yar’adua, underscored a shortfall of over N186bn, which he noted will impinge on the ability of the Army to effectively carry out their duties.