The Federal Government has approved the release of $1b for the procurement of security equipment to intensify the anti-terrorism campaigns in the North eastern and other parts of the country. Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, disclosed this Wednesday while briefing the State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa.
But Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, immediately queried President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the said sum, describing it as “pooling of public funds for the purpose of funding President Buhari’s reelection as well as the coming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States.”
The Minister announced that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the approval after a meeting he had with the security Chiefs.
On Wednesday, the weekly FEC meeting was cancelled for the meeting between the President and the Service Chiefs.
The President was said to have tasked the Service Chiefs to step up their efforts in securing the release of the remaining abducted Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu.
Governor Fayose demanded to know whether or not the $1 billion was from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), adding that; “it will be illegal and against the principle of federalism that operates in Nigeria for the President, who is the head of just one of the federating units to approve spending of fund belonging to the three tiers of government without the consent of heads of other federating units.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, and signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose asked; “When did the National Assembly approve the spending of the $1 billion? Or can the President spend $1billion belonging to Nigerians without the approval of the National Assembly?”
The statement said: “Nigerians required explanations from the federal government as to where the $1 billion will be sourced because the President lacked power to unilaterally spend money from the Excess Crude Account. Not even when there is a pending suit by Ekiti State Local Council Chairmen, challenging the powers the 36 state governors to purportedly execute the constitutional duty of the Federal government without the their consent.”
“Another question the federal government must answer is; which insurgency are they buying arms worth N370 billion to fight? Is it the same Boko Haram that they told Nigerians they completely defeated?
“Since they said they have defeated Boko Haram, and later told Nigerians that they had ceasefire agreement with the insurgents, what else do they need a whopping sum of $1 billion (over N370 billion) for; if not to fund the 2019 elections?
“Also, up till now, the government is yet to give satisfactory explanations as to the abduction and return of the Dapchi School Girls. With the hurried approval of $1 billion, is it not being reinforced that the Boko Haram insurgency has become a source of looting public fund by this government?
“It is on record that Transparency International (TI) once said in its report that some top military officials in the country were feeding fat from the war against Boko Haram by creating fake contracts and laundering the proceeds in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere.”
