Defence Farmland Scheme: Reps Defence Committee to meet Minister, CDS

The House of Representatives Committee on Defence will hold a meeting with the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Chris Musa, to review the implementation of the presidential directive on the Defence Farmland Scheme on Monday

The Chairperson of the committee, Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos), speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the National Assembly Complex, said the engagement with the military is to ensure the proper implementation of the directive.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that President Bola Tinubu recently approved some fiscal measures to address the food crisis in the country.

One of the measures announced by the government is the “fast-tracking of ongoing engagements with the Nigerian Military to rapidly cultivate arable lands under the Defence Farms Scheme.”

The government also announced plans to encourage other paramilitary establishments to secure available arable lands for cultivation.

Mr Benson said the discourse would be on how to utilise the land in line with the directive of the president.

“If there is food security, insecurity will decline,” Mr Benson stated. “When the army takes possession of land, it ensures security. We are calling on the defence minister and CDS next week to explain how they plan to actualise the president’s directive.”

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The lawmaker also commended the federal government for using the instruments of the law to restore the “autonomy” of the local governments in the country.

He stated that the ruling of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy would ensure development at the local level.

“Financial autonomy for local governments will spur development and close ungoverned spaces that breed insecurity.

“With local government autonomy, there will be competition and development as councils focus on their campaign promises. This could be a catalytic change for Nigeria’s development,” he said.

Last week, the Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling on a case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, against 36 states.

The court ruled that it is illegal and unconstitutional for governors to receive and withhold funds allocated to local government areas (LGAs) in their states.

It empowered the Accountant-General of the Federation to bypass the state governments in the monthly disbursement of federal allocations to the local governments.

The National Assembly has, over the years, tried to use the route of constitutional amendment to guarantee local government autonomy; however, the attempts failed.