Military to be slashed

Nigeria will, over the next four years, slash its armed forces from the current 80,000 to 50,000 in a cost-cutting measure also aimed at professionalising the military, Defense Minister Theophilus Danjuma told reporters on Tuesday. The measure will result in a leaner, better equipped military completely subordinate to civilian authority after decades of military rule, `The Guardian' newspaper quoted him as saying. The army's strength will be 30,000, while the navy and air force will each have 10,000 troops. Danjuma said this would imply reduced Nigerian participation in the West African regional force, ECOMOG. "The dominant role Nigeria is playing in ECOMOG, which is akin to America's role in NATO, though commendable, is not in our long-term interest because of its enormous cost to our national economy," Danjuma was quoted as saying. Defence spending - the largest single element in Nigeria's budget - accounts for 16.7 billion naira (US $160 million), compared to 13.3 billion naira (US $127 million) for education, AFP reported. Danjuma seeks help with training Danjuma called on the international community, especially the United States and Britain, to help demobilise the military by providing training for self-employment. He also asked them to place Nigerian officers in their military institutions - particularly in schools of armoury, artillery, signals and infantry. "This becomes imperative because the crops schools in Nigeria need to be refurbished, and their equipment rehabilitated," `The Guardian' reported. It said the United States was working with Nigerians in preparing schedules for training the trainers. Oil marketing contracts restricted Nigeria has slashed from 41 to 16, the number of companies licensed to market the country's crude oil as from 1 October, news reports said. An official in the office of Rilwanu Lukman, the presidential adviser on petroleum, told AFP the measure was an attempt "to bring a bit of sanity back to the market". State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which issued the new licences, said 10 companies were major international trading concerns, three were refinery operators in Africa (Ghana, Kenya and South Africa) and three were NNPC joint venture partners, AFP reported. In July, the NNPC cancelled the 41 contracts in a move to expel from the sector front companies set up by people with links to past military administrations and announced new conditions for companies seeking contracts. Under these guidelines, the companies are required to be major players in the oil industry with a minimum annual turnover of US $100 million, and a net worth of at least $40 million. Digital phones for 20 cities The government has ordered the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited (M-Tel) to introduce immediately a Global System of Mobile communications (GSM) in at least 20 cities in the country, `The Guardian' reported. GSM is digital, unlike the present analogue system M-Tel operates. The newspaper reported that the company had asked Telnet Nigeria Limited and Telia of Sweden for a design and survey of the 20 cities for the GSM network. The two companies are to serve as consultants and present their final reports in October when the supply of the facilities will be subjected to international competitive bidding, the newspaper said. The newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, added that although M Tel has completed a 7,000-line GSM network for Abuja, government has insisted "on proper survey and design of the GSM network before supply and installation to give room for proper planning that will allow for easy future expansion". M-Tel is test-running the Abuja network, which will serve as a prelude to the national network expected to serve such cities as Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Warri, Abuja, Kano, Aba, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Enugu, Onitsha and Jos. IMF officials pledge to help The newly appointed resident representative of the International Monetary Fund in Nigeria, Christopher Browne, has promised to work with the government to improve the battered economy and living standards, news reports said. He made the commitment on Tuesday to Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Brown, expected to take up his post in October, was appointed following an agreement by the fund and Nigeria for a stand-by IMF arrangement. Under this deal, the IMF would monitor, closely, the management of Nigeria's financial affairs. Agreement had also been reached on debt relief for Nigeria, which has a US $30-billion external debt, Reuters reported, quoting government officials.