The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) has earmarked N100m for the construction of a cemetery and another N50m to equip the cemetery.
The NDA further stated that the project would be executed by direct labour.
This implies that the project will not be executed by a contractor but done internally by the NDA.
The academy, however, set aside N50m to equip its hospital.
The information is contained in the 2020 budget proposal which was submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari last week.
The 55-year-old academy is an agency of the military saddled with the responsibility of providing young cadets with knowledge, skills and values necessary to meet the requirements of a military officer through military, academic and character development.
The immediate-past Director of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Brig. Gen. John Agim (retd.), had said last month that 15 to 25 per cent of new intakes die in training.
Agim said this informed the decision of the military to make it mandatory for applicants to sign a bond before being admitted into the NDA.
He had said, “I can assure you that we have a robust training that when you come out of it alive, you know that it is not you but God. You can go for several days without food.
“And for each of our recruitments, there is a percentage expected to die during training. And this could be as much as between 15 and 25 per cent. That alone shows you that it is no play zone or a boys’ scout lifestyle.
“That is why when filling a form to attend the Nigerian Defence Academy, you sign a bond that you are responsible for your decision.”
Several cadets have died during training, some of which have ended up in court due to their controversial nature.
In 2017, the ECOWAS Court of Justice asked the Federal Government to compensate Wing Commander Danladi Angulu Kwasu for the death of his son.
Kwasu’s son died during the ‘watermanship’ training at the NDA, on April 30, 2015.
He died by drowning and the court held that there was a failure to provide safety measures during the training or investigate the matter after the death.
Attempts to speak with the NDA spokesman, Maj. Abubakar Abdullahi, proved abortive as he neither responded to repeated calls nor a text message on Monday.
The NDA’s N15.7bn budget, N950m was earmarked for the construction and furnishing of the residences of the commandant, the deputy commandant and the provost.
A separate N450m was budgeted for the equipping and furnishing of the faculties of arts and social sciences; sciences, engineering and military sciences.
This implies that the NDA’s budget for the construction and furnishing of residences of the commandant, his deputy and the provost, is more than double the amount which was budgeted for equipping and furnishing the four faculties in the academy.
