Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki has denied allegations
that he awarded fictitious arms procurement contract to the tune of N300
billion while he was in office. In a statement he released this
evening, Dasuki said he was not NSA as at when the fictitious contracts
were said to have been awarded. His statement in part below
"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.”the statement read
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