Premium Times
Buhari in France
The
former administration of Goodluck Jonathan spent billions of naira and
millions of dollars on efforts to equip the Nigerian military against
Boko Haram, but there was rampant “abuse of trust”, President Muhammadu
Buhari has said.
Mr. Buhari said the abuse cost the nation lives and equipment.
He made the remark while addressing members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Mr.
Buhari urged the legislature to collaborate with the executive arm of
government to secure the country and effectively manage it.
“There
are a lot of obstacles to be crossed. The objectives we have are to
secure this country and effectively manage it,” the president said.
According
to him, the major challenge in the security of the country was the
threat posed by the Boko Haram insurgency but added that the leadership
of the country had set clear targets toward the re-organisation,
retraining and re-equipping the military to neutralize Boko Haram.
He
said his administration had hoped that at the end of the rainy season
organised attack would be launched against the insurgents, adding that
government had also raised the morale of the soldiers to tackle the
challenge.
The president, however, observed that his
administration uncovered that the previous administration expended
“billions of naira and hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire
military equipment but with several abuses of trust.
“There were abuses of trust and that cost Nigeria a lot of lives and a lot of goodwill’’ he said.
Mr.
Buhari observed that Nigeria, which had earned reputation in the fight
against criminal activities and defence of territories abroad, found out
that it could no longer defend a few local government areas occupied by
insurgents.
“I seek your understanding,” Mr. Buhari appealed.
He
told the legislators to think about the consequences of not acting in
tandem with the government, noting that Nigerians were wiser to know
those who represent them well.
He noted that he took the
initiative of seeking the collaboration of the international community
to be able to win the war against terrorism.
He said the Boko
Haram’s attempt to divide the country was a miscalculation adding that
their claim to be fighting for Islam was both misleading and working
against God.
He said the group was gradually being decimated and were finding it difficult to recruit while the military was doing well.
Responding,
the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, said that the support of his
colleagues would be total to ensure that the government bequeathed
something meaningful to posterity.
“What bothers me is the legacy we
are leaving behind. After we have exited, what will our children and
grandchildren say about us,’’ he said.
He noted that there was
bound to be disagreements between the executive and the legislature,
beginning with the handling of the provisions of the 2016 appropriation
bill but said the issue would be handled in the interest of the public.
“Your
hosting us today shows that there will be a seamless interface between
the three arms of government to deliver to the people.
“We support
you like many Nigerians will support you because there is nobody that
will be in doubt that you will rid this country of corruption,” he said.
Mr. Dogara added that the time to restructure the economy was now.
“These four years are very critical. If you don’t get it right under us, this generation will forget about getting it right.
“We
will support you regardless of our political differences and we have to
leave something to our children and posterity,’’ he added.
Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/194920-arms-scandal-jonathans-govt-spent-billions-abused-trust-buhari.html
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