The Nigerian Army has expressed concern over the low participation of
south-east youths in its ongoing recruitment exercise, warning that
the region risks losing out on its rightful representation within the
military.

Speaking during a town hall meeting in Enugu, Chima Ekeator, leader of
the 2025 army recruitment enlightenment team, said the south-east was
gradually being underrepresented due to poor application rates.

“Our people are losing what rightly belongs to them. Each year,
whenever a slot is being allocated to our people, we keep noticing
that the number of applicants from our side is usually very poor,”
Ekeator said.

He cited Enugu State as an example, stating that although the state
had about 200 recruitment slots this year, fewer than 100 applications
were received.

“Take, for example, Enugu State was given about 200 slots, but the
people who made it were never up to 100 due to poor application. This
has also become a recurring decimal in other states in the
south-east.”

Ekeator urged youths in the region to take advantage of the
recruitment window and fill their quotas, pointing out that other
states were recording significantly higher interest. He revealed that
Kaduna State had already received over 3,000 applications.