Nigeria’s presidency has waded into the allegation by the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, that $1 billion arms fund given to former service chiefs was missing.
A presidential spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu said, in response to a question on the issue, “I imagine that you are talking about the $1 billion taken from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) with the consent of state governors and was used for military procurement.”
“I want to assure you that nothing of that money is missing,” Shehu said on Friday in an interview on a Channels Television programme.
According to him: “The reference to it in the interview with Hausa Service of the BBC by the National Security Adviser, I think, has been misconstrued and mistranslated.”
Shehu said that the procurements made have not been fully delivered and about $536 million of the money was paid directly in a government-to-government transaction with the United States government.
Read him: “In August 2018, they (the US) allowed the Nigerian Government to buy 12 Super Tucano aircraft suitable for the kind of war we are fighting in the North East. In addition to that, other arms of the military have also made procurements.
“The Nigerian Navy has done nearly 100 per cent of their procurements equipment delivered; the Nigerian Air Force has bought a number of attack helicopters – 35 i-helicopters from Ukraine.”
He, however, said there had been problems with the procurements made by the Nigerian Army, stressing that the equipment had been coming in bits and pieces.
He confirmed that Nigeria was expecting her biggest procurement from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He said: “As I speak to you, it is held up in a situation which only diplomacy will resolve. The Nigerian Minister of Defence actually had a meeting with the Ambassador of the UAE to Nigeria and the idea is to resolve this so that these equipment held up will be released.
“We need them here, all these procurements are ongoing; nothing can be bought on the shelf, they are bought on order. The NSA did not make accusations of misappropriation because there is none in dealing with this matter.”
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
