The House of Representatives has expressed shock over paltry budgetary appropriation to the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
The Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson, was of the opinion that there was a need to increase DIA’s budget to be at par with the Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Benson disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he led members on the committee on an oversight visit to the headquarters of the DIA.
He stated: “There are three intelligence agencies in Nigeria: the DSS , NIA and DIA. We have looked at the budget of the three and believe the DIA should be getting more because it does not only cover internal security which has allowed the armed forces to come in, but they also provide intelligence from Nigeria and outside Nigeria.
“So they are the only agency that wears those two caps. The DSS is just Nigeria, the NIA is foreign but the DIA does for both. But if you look at the budget of the three agencies it is shocking that the DIA gets the least by far.”
Benson stressed that the DIA was central to the security architecture of the nation, adding that the visit of the committee underscores importance to intelligence driven approaches in addressing the multi faceted security challenges confronting the country.
He added: “So we are here today to even see what they have done with the little they have, but there is a need to drastically ramp up what they get for them to be at par with what the DSS and the NIA.
“This is the recommendation we are taking away and we are going to ensure that Mr President, the father of the nation, sees it.
“He needs to adopt the DIA as his baby because they need so much potential. As you can see insecurity has gone down drastically in Nigeria and the DIA has played a very critical role.”