The Nigerian Navy is working towards a new way of generating income to take care of its personnel other than relying solely on the defence budget, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla, has said.
Represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Joseph Akpan, at the opening of the Chief of Account and Budget Seminar yesterday (Thursday, July 25), the CNS said it had become necessary for the Navy to look inward to see how it could generate funds to support its personnel than simply sit by and wait to be funded all through from the defence budget.
In the CNS’ speech he read, Rear Admiral Akpan told his audience that internal revenue generation was the new thinking in the Navy, in view of its current lean purse, especially as the budget was no longer enough to support the Service’s personnel.
Explaining that within the first one year of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla in office, the Navy has adopted measures to address personnel welfare like never before, Akpan said it’s NN leadership’s way of supporting the President and Commander-in-Chief in the implementation of his Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the CNS, the theme of the seminar ‘Optimising Nigerian Navy Non-Public Fund Opportunities in a Dynamic Economic Environment: The Nigerian Navy Personnel in Focus’, aptly reflects the Navy’s commitment to this new course of action.
“By optimizing non-public funds, the Nigerian Navy aims to boost the welfare and well-being of its personnel, facilitating the retention of skilled staff and enhancing operational effectiveness,” Admiral Ogalla explained, adding that “improving living standards through various initiatives is critical to protecting Nigeria’s maritime environment and ensuring the economic prosperity of the country, emphasizing the importance of schemes like the Navy insurance, car refurbishing loan, and welfare loan programmes, managed by the Directorate of Non-Public Funds, in achieving these goals.”
The CNS pointed out that to ensure the success of these initiatives, transparency, accountability, and continuous evaluation are vital and expressed his delight that the seminar’s lectures were crafted to elucidate these factors and foster innovations in utilizing non-public funds to improve personnel welfare.
He also suggested that discussing additional packages, such as mortgage schemes, would be beneficial.
The two-day seminar encouraged participants to brainstorm on critical policy issues related to non-public fund opportunities and personnel welfare with a view to improving operational efficiency.
Rear Admiral Akpan praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for prioritizing the welfare of armed forces personnel, both serving and retired, recalling that the president recently approved a 20 percent increase in pension rates for pensioners, effective January 2024, among other welfare packages.
“We appreciate the President for his guidance and unwavering support to the service,” said Rear Admiral Akpan. “We remain committed to carrying out our statutory mandate for economic prosperity and poverty eradication in line with the Renewed Hope Nigeria initiative.”
Under CNS Vice Admiral Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy has in the past one-year extended support to vulnerable groups, including widows and orphans, demonstrating its commitment to the welfare of its personnel and the broader community.
