Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has asked the Federal
Government to provide answers to the $1 billion dollars that was withdrawn from
the Excess Crude Account to purchase arms for the fight against insecurity.
Speaking during a recent interview on Channels Television’s
Newsnight which aired on Monday, the governor asked President Muhammadu Buhari
to hold officials accountable for their actions.
The National Economic Council had on December 15, 2017
agreed to utilise $1billion from Nigeria’s excess crude account to tackle Boko
Haram insurgency and other security challenges.
The meeting which was chaired by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo had the 36 state governors in attendance and it came as the state
governors pledged to support the Federal Government to rid the North East of
the insurgents.
Four years after, several questions have been raised by
many, including Governor Wike regarding the purchase of the equipment,
especially as insecurity has worsened since then.
“I remember there was a time when $1 billion was taken from
the Excess Crude Account to provide for security. Where is the equipment that
we bought,” Wike questioned.
“If I should release that money as the Chief Security
Officer, knowing how Nigeria is, I will make sure that those weapons and the
right ones were bought.”
The governor also reacted to the decision of the House of
Representatives to summon the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim
Attahiru and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin
Emefiele, over the procurement of arms.
He also faulted the response of the army chief over the arms
purchase during his appearance before the lower chamber.
Wike added, “I was surprised when I was watching the
television when the House of Representatives invited the Chief of Army Staff
about the purchase of weapons and he said ‘look, you know the right people to
ask.
“You have to take leadership. Even if those who were at the
helms of affairs of security, the onus is on you, you can still summon them
back. ’”
Wike’s remarks come about three weeks after a tension ensued
between the as some tension between the House ad-hoc committee on arms and
ammunition, and the COAS following the investigation into arms purchase by the
military.
Things took a different turn when the Chief of Army Staff,
refused to speak further on a document which he had presented to the committee,
asking the committee instead to review the documents which he considered
self-explanatory.
The Chief of Army Staff insisted that he had barely settled
into office and is definitely not the right person to speak on arms and
ammunition purchased by his predecessors.
“Issues of arms procurement that you so demand to know were
done by specific individuals, I will rather you call these individuals to
explain to you very specific issues the general explanation is contained in
this report,” the COAS told the lawmakers.
He added, “The submission before you speaks to the report
before you. It is an executive summary. It is very self-explanatory to the
extent that it has been pluralised. When you demanded this report, you stated a
specific period for which you wanted it.
“You may wish to recall that the Chief of Army Staff took
over the mantle of leadership barely two months ago.
“The period for which you want this report having been
summarised in the executive summary explained whatever details you require.”
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