The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, is pushing for the establishment of a National Security and Intelligence Trust Fund, as an alternative funding source besides annual budgetary allocations.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ahmed Satomi, after a public hearing on a bill seeking establishment of the trust fund in Abuja, told journalists that the envelop system of budgeting is restrictive for the nation’s security agencies.
According to Satomi, the sponsor of the bill as well as the chairman of the House Committee on National Security, there is a need for alternative source of funding to augment security agencies budgets.
He explained that the major source as proposed in the bill is a one percent statutory transfer from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
Earlier In his welcome address, he said the fund will be primarily deployed to the training and retraining of personnel of Nigerian security agencies, provision of the state-of-the-art security and more.
Declaring the public hearing open Speaker of the House, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, represented by Chairman of the Committee on Power, Hon. Victor Nwokolo said the hearing was organised to afford members of the public the opportunity to make informed contributions that will assist the House to take a decision towards the establishment the Fund.
There were suggestions that unclaimed funds in money deposit banks spanning between six and nine years among others should be used for the fund.
