Senate Suspends Hearing on Defence Ministry’s Budget over NNS Aradu

The Senate Tuesday refused to consider the 2023 budget for the Ministry of Defence, over the failure of the minister, Bashiru Magashi, to honour invitations extended to him by the Senate ad hoc Committee on the Resuscitation of Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS ARADU), which is the largest on the fleet of the navy.

The Senate, through its Committee on Defence, took the decision when the former Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (APC, Kebbi North), drew the panel’s attention to an earlier behaviour of the minister to a Senate ad hoc Committee.

He specifically drew the attention of other members of the committee to an earlier invitation extended to the Minister of Defence to come before its Ad hoc Committee to give explanations concerning the naval ship.

Abdullahi said: “A motion was raised on the floor of the Senate chamber in February on the need to resuscitate the NNS Aradu, which is Nigeria’s flagship and most powerful in the fleet of the Nigerian Navy.

“The Senate subsequently set up an ad hoc committee chaired by him to interface with the Minister of Defence with a view to finding ways to resuscitate the grounded NNS Aradu.

“The minister has refused to honour all the invitations forwarded to him by his panel in the last three months.

“The powerful naval ship is owned by only three countries of world, Germany, Argentina and Nigeria.

“The ship was designed to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity. While other countries have maintained their flagship that represents the strength of the navy, that of Nigeria remained grounded.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Aliyu Wamakka, also spoke extensively on the need to urgently resuscitate the Navy ship.