In a statement issued on Sunday by his
Special Assistant on Public Communications
and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor
Fayose said “it is now obvious to the entire
world that anyone that is in
President Buhari’s good books can never be
adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is
caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s
treasury.”
The governor said it smacked of sheer
hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to
accept that fraud could have been
perpetrated on procurement and award of
contracts in an establishment without the
involvement of the director of procurement.
"There are many petitions relating to the
defence from 2007 that are been discarded,
the question is why? There are several
petitions against APC leaders that are not
being looked into, the question is why?
"Fghting corruption and targeting only
opponents of the president is in itself
corruption," he said.
He said; “Buhari’s’ Minister of Interior, Major
General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) was
Chief of Army Staff between 2008 and 2010
and the current Chief Of Army Staff, Major
General Tukur Buratai served as Director of
Procurements, Defence Headquarters, from
2012 till May 2015.
“It is a fact that the committee in its terms
of reference said it queried all procurement
from 2007 to 2015. Even the Press Release
issued was titled; ‘Third Interim Report of
the Presidential Committee on Audit of
Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007
to 2015.’
“First paragraph of the committee report
also indicated that it used 2007-2015 as
reference, stating that the committee
‘analysed procurement contracts awarded by
or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and
2015.’
“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask
President Buhari and his government are;
where is the report of Presidential
Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment
Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010?
Who doctored the committee report and
why?
“Lai Mohammed said the Committee would
commence the audit of procurement from
2007 to 2010 ‘as soon as the necessary
documents are available’, it is necessary
that Nigerians are told who the
custodians of the documents are. Why were
documents on procurement from 2011 and
2015 available and those of 2007 to 2010
not available?
"Early this year, we were told that an ally of
President Buhari and chieftain of the APC,
Brig. General Jafaru Isa (rtd) refunded N100
million of the N170 million he allegedly
received from ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki.
"Jafaru Isa who was a member of the 19-
man Buhari Transition Committee was
released after he was allegedly assisted by
the Presidency to refund N100 million to the
anti-graft commission and since
then, nothing has been heard about the
case. He was not charged to court like
others.
"It took the Ministry of Defence and the
Code of Conduct Bureau only one week to
clear Buratai but others from the opposition
party would be languishing in prison while
EFCC go about fishing for evidence against
them.
“Like I and other well-meaning Nigerians
have maintained, fighting corruption is a
good idea but the moment documents of
probe panels and being doctored to shield
those seen as the President’s men, the
entire purpose of the corruption fight has
been defeated.
“The international community must therefore
prevail on President Buhari to stop acting
like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria
by making the anti-corruption war all-
inclusive instead of this clear persecution of
his perceived political enemies, and the first
step to demonstrate that will be the
immediate release of report of the
Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence
Equipment Procurement covering 2007 to
2015.”
Source: vanguard
Comments