Sambo Dasuki
The embattled ex National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki
(rtd.), has again responded to the claims contained in an interim
report of the presidential panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to
probe the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and
defence sector from 2007 to date.
Dasuki, in a more detailed response issued on Wednesday, November
18, provided evidence of the correspondence from the army and air force
acknowledging the receipt of four Alpha jets, 12 helicopters and other
military equipment that the panel accused him of not procuring.
The presidency on Tuesday had released the findings of its panel
and ordered the arrest of Dasuki and other unnamed persons alleged to
have misappropriated several billions of naira and dollars in the award
of fictitious and 53 failed contracts, thus contributing to the needless
deaths of thousands of Nigerians affected by the insurgency in the
North-east.
Some of the contracts, which were said to be for the purchase of
four Alpha jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition, the presidential
report alleged, were not executed and the equipment never supplied to
the Nigerian Air Force, neither are they in its inventory.
However, in a statement he personally signed, Dasuki said: “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, he said 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 four 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 short of propaganda to cast aspersions on Dasuki.
“To set the records straight, Nigerians should appreciate that
the AVM John 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,” he stated.
Dasuki said the presidency alleged that the panel accused him of
awarding fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015, when he
was not even the NSA in March 2012.
“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,” he pointed out.
He stated that all contracts and accruing payments were with the
approval of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
(Jonathan).
“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,” he said.
Dasuki maintained that there were no fictitious contracts, contract
sums were not diverted, and the relevant services in writing
acknowledged delivery of equipment.
He said for all procurements, the Nigerian Army, the Air Force and the Nigerian Navy have their contractors.
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