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Naira Scarcity, Redesign Affecting Operations Of Nigerian Army Troops In North-East Region – Senate Committee

Nigerian-Troops-In-north-east
February 4, 2023

Ndume while speaking to newsmen on Saturday in Maiduguri, Borno State, said the troops now found it difficult to survive at the frontlines due to lack of cash to buy their basic needs at remote communities across terrain of insecurity.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, Senator Muhammadu Ndume, has said the naira redesign and cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is affecting the strategic operations of troops at the front line of insecurity in the country.

Ndume while speaking to newsmen on Saturday in Maiduguri, Borno State, said the troops now found it difficult to survive at the frontlines due to lack of cash to buy their basic needs at remote communities across terrain of insecurity.

“Naira redesign and the CBN’s cashless policy are actually gravely affecting the strategic operations of troops at all front lines of insecurity across the country,”

“Troops find it difficult to survive at the front lines due to the fact that they lack the cash to buy their daily basic needs at the remote communities across terrains of insecurity in the country where they cannot access cash due to the challenges posed by the currency redesign and cashless policy,” he complained, according to a PUNCH report.

Senator Ndume recalled that hitherto, soldiers accessed daily stipends easily from ATMs and Points of Sales to enable them provide for their daily basic needs because the terrains of their operations were inaccessible for their daily rations to be delivered to them.

“Now a soldier stays for hours on the ATM queue or PoS when he should be discharging his duties at the frontlines, just to access the stipend,” he lamented, saying, “this situation has dampened the morale of the troops at the frontlines.”

Ndume picked holes in the claim that the policies were to plug the sources of terror financing and other security breaches, saying, “The terrorists have said that they are already in possession of the new notes.”

He called on the Federal Government and the CBN to make arrangements for the troops to access their cash easily in view of the critical nature of their duties, and also make the new notes available everywhere at every time.

 

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Military Money