A report by the Committee on Army of the House of Representatives has confirmed that 386 soldiers resigned from the Nigerian Army in the second quarter of 2020.
During the adoption of the report on Tuesday, Abdulrazak Namdas, who chaired the committee, said that the resignations were not related to the ongoing war against insurgency in the North-East but the lack of interest and medical reasons.
It noted that another reason some officers resigned was to take up traditional titles.
“The total number of soldiers who voluntarily discharged from the service in the second quarter of 2020 is 386, which is well over the 365 figure previously assumed. Out of this number, 356 soldiers voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army for loss of interest; 24 resigned in order to take up traditional titles, while six were discharged on medical grounds.
“Some soldiers may not be committed to the service, hence they sometimes evade duties and/or responsibilities they consider too tough, which ultimately leads to voluntary discharge,” the report said.
“Some soldiers, who voluntarily resigned, served in the front lines or were actively engaged in any combat operations; some of them performed other duties at various Army formations across the country.
“Based on the facts available to the committee, there was no mass resignation from the Army; individual soldiers resigned on their own from their units.”
A total of 356 soldiers of the Nigerian Army were reported to have resigned from the service in July 2020, a development that sparked controversy from various quarters.
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The soldiers were said to have tendered their resignations at the time because they had lost interest in the job due to poor welfare and claims that the army were not well equipped to battle insurgents.
This caught the attention of the lawmakers who deliberated on the matter and mandated the House Committee on Army to carry out a thorough investigation into that on July 14, 2020.
According to the House of Representatives Committee report on Tuesday, the welfare of soldiers across Army formations “has been a recurrent challenge over the years,” stating that though there was an improvement in their welfare packages, “soldiers still stressed on an urgent need for the Army to do more.”
It noted that the Nigerian Army should improve on the welfare of their personnel, especially those on battlefields or other combat operations to further make the soldiers more committed to their jobs and to the nation at large.
“That there should be effective monitoring or follow-up in the delivery of the welfare packages in all the army formations to ensure that they reach out to all the beneficiaries (the soldiers) in a fair and equitable manner.
“That the army should continuously embark on an orientation of soldiers – both old and new – about the reality of their jobs and the need to be committed to their country. This will reduce the number of soldiers leaving the army due to loss of interest.”
According to the report, the number of disengagements was far lower than the enlistment in the army in the last five years.
It stated that about 6,752 personnel were disengaged and 25,655 were enlisted, adding that not all the soldiers who voluntarily resigned were actively involved in combat operations.
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