Lawan urges FG to place armed forces budget on First-Line Charge

Lawan, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, made the call in his goodwill message at the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DECAN) Conference 2026 on Monday in Abuja.

The conference is with theme: “Beyond Kinetic Warfare: Harnessing Technology and Intelligence-led Operations for Nigeria’s National Security”.

The former senate president congratulated DECAN for organising the conference, describing it as very important.

He said security of any country is not the business of uniformed personnel alone, but for everyone to contribute what is necessary.

“The rest of us who are not in uniform must at all times recognise the fact that those in uniform, particularly our Armed Forces and other security agencies, are making very huge and massive sacrifices to keep this country safe,” he said.

Lawan commended President Bola Tinubu for making more resources available to the Armed Forces and other security agencies, saying it shows how the administration prioritises keeping Nigeria safe.

“We may not be where we want to be, but I am convinced from what I know that we are making huge progress to keep Nigeria safe.

“The credit should go to our Armed Forces for making all the sacrifices. No matter how much we give them, it may not be enough. But they still try hard to work with that little that we give them,” he said.

The lawmaker said defence correspondents and journalists generally play critical roles in informing citizens about what the Armed Forces are doing to keep the country safe and what citizens need to do to support them.

He said it is the duty of the National Assembly to support the executive arm of government to ensure that whatever resources required by the Armed Forces and security agencies are approved.

Lawan said in his over 27 years as a member of the National Assembly, he had not seen any request sent by the executive for the Armed Forces and other security agencies that was not approved.

“In fact, in most cases, they were always increased. Because we believe that security is first.

“We all know constitutionally, the security and welfare of citizens is the essence of government.

“Therefore, we will continue to support our work with the executive arm of government to ensure that the resources that we have within our constraints are made available for our security agencies and Armed Forces,” he said.

Lawan suggested that with improved revenues, government should dedicate a certain percentage of resources to procure more platforms and weapons in bulk for the Armed Forces.

“I believe that this is one way of ensuring that our Armed Forces are better supported because you cannot send someone to go out and fight with little and of course expect much success.

“Credit to our Armed Forces and other security agencies, we are still doing very well. But I believe that we need to give you a lot more,” he said.

He said the National Assembly is considering that budgets for the Armed Forces and other security agencies should be on first-line charge to address challenges of budget releases and other resource constraints.

Lawan said Nigerians should be told through DECAN that the Armed Forces are working hard, adding that occasional security breaches should not be a basis to conclude that Nigeria is totally insecure.

“It is not true. I believe that we have moved from where we were to a better situation now but we can make this better, far more better.

“We continue to fight the way we have been fighting insurgency and banditry and other criminal activities in the country,” he said.