Former NSA, Sambo Dasuki Gives
Detail Of Arms Purchase
The former National Security
Adviser Sambo Dasuki has released an official statement saying he did all he
did during his tenure in the interest of Nigeria.
Dasuki in one
of his appearances in court
On Tuesday, November 17, the President Muhammadu Buhari in an official statement by his special adviser on media Femi Adeshina ordered the arrest of the former NSA.
The order for arrest came after an interim report by a
13-man audit committee unearthed several illicit and fraudulent financial
transactions of arms purchase made during his tenure as NSA.
Dasuki is alleged to have siphoned billions of
dollars earmarked for arms purchase.
Things went sore for the former NSA
after he filed a suit against the federal government that flouted a court order
to permit Dasuki travel abroad for the treatment of cancer.
But in his statement, the former NSA said the
presidency fed the public with many allegations against his person and a yet to
be named public office holders.
Dasuki said: “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.”
The former NSA said his statement
is to clear doubts of undiscerning Nigerians that may assume that the
allegations agaisnt him are true and pronounce him 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.” Dasuki said.
Read Dasuki’s full statement
below:
I
ACTED IN NATIONAL INTEREST—Dasuki
In a theatrical manner, the
Presidency fed the public with many allegations against my person and yet to be
named former public officers.
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.
Source: Naij.com
Post a Comment