Tinubu’s five-year defence plan ready to tackle insecurity – APC Campaign Council

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu’s proposed Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan is ready, describing it as a major step towards tackling insecurity across the country. The council said the plan would strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, improve military effectiveness and provide a coordinated response to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, the council said the initiative was designed to align defence priorities, operational requirements, capability development and expenditure with Nigeria’s current and anticipated security challenges. It described the plan as part of Tinubu’s determination to reposition the country’s security system towards a more coordinated, intelligence-led, technology-enabled and prevention-oriented framework.

According to the statement, military operations conducted under the administration in the last three years have resulted in the elimination of more than 15,000 terrorists and bandits, while over 130,000 Boko Haram fighters and their dependants have surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor, the Federal Government’s rehabilitation programme for repentant insurgents.

The council said the figures reflected the administration’s two-pronged strategy of sustained military operations and non-kinetic interventions to address insecurity. On military expansion, the statement disclosed that Tinubu had approved the creation of four new Army divisions and the restructuring of existing formations to expand operational coverage and improve responses to security threats.

It added that the President had also approved the establishment of two additional Army depots in Osogbo, Osun State, and Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, to increase military training capacity and accelerate the recruitment of soldiers. According to the council, the two facilities can accommodate 6,000 recruits each, giving them a combined capacity of 12,000 soldiers at a time.

The Osogbo facility, it said, currently has 5,210 recruits undergoing training. The statement added that the expansion of the training facilities was expected to reduce recruitment turnaround time and increase the number of soldiers available for deployment. It further disclosed that Tinubu had approved the recruitment of an additional 28,000 soldiers to strengthen the military’s presence and improve operational effectiveness.

The President was also said to have approved the recruitment of 50,000 additional police officers as part of efforts to reinforce internal security and improve the country’s policing capacity. On infrastructure and personnel welfare, the council said the administration was investing in military accommodation and operational facilities to improve the working and living conditions of security personnel.

It cited the 700-unit military barracks project in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, as one of the initiatives aimed at providing personnel with suitable accommodation and essential military infrastructure. “These measures reflect the administration’s determination to address manpower and infrastructure gaps, improve the capacity of security agencies, and ensure personnel are adequately trained, equipped, and deployed to areas facing security challenges,” the statement said.

On intelligence, surveillance and coordination, the council said the Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan would ensure that investments in the security sector were guided by identified threats, operational requirements and national priorities. It added that the framework was expected to strengthen combat readiness, address critical capability gaps, optimise available resources and minimise unnecessary expenditure.

The statement maintained that the proposed plan formed part of the administration’s broader efforts to improve national security through sustained investment in military personnel, equipment, technology, training and infrastructure.