Army chief: Why we’ve recorded improvements in war against insurgency

Faruk Yahaya, chief of army staff, says the war against insurgency has improved because of the priority placed on the welfare of officers.

Yahaya spoke on Monday at the chief of army staff first quarter conference held in Abuja.

He said the army under his watch has continued to evolve better administrative measures to improve the welfare of troops.

The army chief said the introduction of several incentives has boosted the morale of troops fighting the insurgency.

“In this respect, the Nigerian army personnel insurance scheme (NAPIS) — which is akin to the group life assurance scheme — to further cater for troops’ dependants in any eventuality has just commenced,” he said.

“The policy which covers payment of medical bills, compensation for temporal or permanent disability as well as death is paid wholly by the army and is, therefore, devoid of problems and issues associated with the previous schemes.

“Our NAPIS payment is guaranteed in the event of any eventuality and the scheme had taken off effective since February 1, 2023.

“We have also introduced the COAS welfare loan scheme for the benefit of interested officers and soldiers. This is a scheme where interested officers and soldiers are granted interest-free soft loans.

“Similar schemes are afoot to facilitate interested soldiers own houses on specially arranged affordable mortgages. I believe those schemes and many more to come will further contribute to enhancing our overall welfare packages for the Nigerian army personnel.”