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In dramatic twist of events, the former NSA to the Nigerian Government, Colonel Sambo Dasuki has debunked the allegations of large
scale frauds in the procurement of ammunitions during his tenure, saying all
contracts and accruing payments were with the approval of the President and
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday
ordered the arrest of Dasuki along with other officials over the alleged frauds
Dasuki in a statement on Wednesday said
in a theatrical manner, the Presidency fed the public with many allegations
against my person and yet to be named former public officers.
Full text of the statement read: “To
draw sympathy, the presidency quoted some absurd findings including
extra-budgetary interventions; award of fictitious contracts; 53 failed
contracts; payment for jobs without contractual agreements; non-execution
of contracts for the purchase of 4 Alpha jets, bombs and ammunition.
“For undiscerning Nigerians, they may
tend to assume that the allegations were true and pronounce the former National
Security Adviser guilty as charged.
“The statement issued by the Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who should know better as a
former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and a witness to history, was
nothing sort of propaganda to cast aspersions on Dasuki.
“To set the records straight, Nigerians
should appreciate that the AVM Jon Ode-led panel did not invite the ex-NSA
under any guise before arriving at its ambiguous findings. At least, fairness
demands that the panel ought to hear from Dasuki instead of its recourse to
hasty conclusions. If the panel had been more patient and painstaking, it would
have been availed of all relevant documents on some of the jaundiced findings.
“As if acting a script, the Presidency
alleged that the Panel accused Dasuki of awarding fictitious contracts between
March 2012 and March 2015. Contrary to this claim, Dasuki was not the NSA in
March 2012 and he could not have awarded any contract in whatever name. The
ex-NSA was appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on June 22, 2012.
“All contracts and accruing payments
were with the approval of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed
Forces. Once the ex-President approved, the former NSA paid. So, there
was due process for every purchase in line with regulations guiding arms
procurement for the Armed Forces.
“And Nigerians should note that all the
services generated the types of equipment needed, sourced for suppliers most
times and after consideration by the Office of the NSA, the President will
approve application for payment. For sensitive sectors (military/security),
there was no room for awarding fictitious contracts. The conclusions of the
panel were presumptive, baseless and lacked diligence.
“There were no fictitious contracts;
contract sums were not diverted and the relevant services in writing
acknowledged delivery of equipment. For all procurements, the Nigerian Army,
the Air Force and the Nigerian Navy have their contractors.
“While awaiting judicial process on
these allegations, it is proper to make some references to show that the
presidency was just desperate to hang some former public and military officers
who served this nation at the risk of their lives.
“It is laughable for the panel to
assume that 4 Alpha jets and 12 helicopters were undelivered. In a memo to the
Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA), referenced NAF/905/D/CAS of
November 28, 2014, the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief
Marshal Adesola Amosu acknowledged the receipt of the 4x Alpha jets
attack aircraft and the helicopters.
“On 10/21/14, the Chief of Air Staff
also confirmed the receipt of F-7 N1 aircraft combination of 250kg bombs and
accessories at $2,894,000 with the cost of freight at $1,200,000. The same Air
Force confirmed getting 2xTri Shield 36DG Tactical radars
“In another letter of December 1, 2014
signed by L.S. Alao(on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff), the Air Force said it
received five containerized fuel storage and dispensing units with equipment.
“The Nigerian Army wrote the ONSA to
acknowledge the delivery of 14 armoured tanks. In a December 13, 2014 memo, the
Brigade of Guards thanked ONSA for releasing N30m for RCA, Operation allowance
for Troops on Op Urban Sweep II for third and fourth quarters of 2014. This is
apart from the installation of CCT Cameras at the Brigade Headquarters, 2
backscatter bomb detection vans and other equipment.
“On November 26, 2014, the immediate
past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh sought for approval
of the award of one pair of uniform(in the interim) for the Armed Forces at
N165, 375 to El-Jahab Mubarak Nigeria and N330,750,000 for two pairs.
“These are some of the acknowledgment
letters submitted to me by the end-users(the services). It is not for me to go
and find out whether the equipment were delivered or not. I am not the one
keeping the inventories.
“To show that I have nothing to hide, I
submitted a comprehensive list of all requests for procurements by the
services, the items bought and those equipment being awaited to His Excellency,
President Muhammadu Buhari long before I left office. If there were issues, I
should have been questioned. I was just the clearing house, I did not award
contracts to my company or proxies. There was no contract awarded or equipment
bought without approval from the then President and Commander-In-Chief. I am
not a thief or treasury looter as being portrayed.
“In order not to endanger the nation's
security, there are many salient issues and contracts which I cannot put in
public domain. I am ready for trial on all these allegations in order to prove
to Nigerians that I did nothing untoward in office. We will certainly meet in
court.
“I have a lot to tell Nigerians but in
the interim, they should not believe some of the allegations as the gospel
truths. The good thing is that some of the key actors in the present
administration were parts of the past process being viciously challenged.
“As for my tenure as the nation's NSA,
I acted in the interest of the nation and with utmost fear of God. I did not
use the office for any self-serving agenda. I occupied the Office of the
National Security Adviser at a difficult moment in Nigerian history when
terrorism was at its peak and I am leaving posterity to judge me accordingly.”
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