Former President Goodluck Jonathan has
denied claims that he awarded a $2bn arms procurement contract, contrary
to reports of a presidential investigations committee into arms
procurement under his administration.
The
committee had said that the Jonathan administration claimed to spend
$2.2bn to procure arms that were never bought. It also accused the
former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, of supervising the
contract.
Dasuki
had said in response to his current indictment over the alleged
embezzlement of funds meant for multi-billion naira arms deals for
Nigeria’s anti-terrorism war that allegations against him were simply
unfounded and that all arms contract were approved by Jonathan, who was
his boss.
He said the allegations from the presidency were “nothing short of propaganda.”
“There
were no fictitious contracts; contract sums were not diverted and the
relevant services acknowledged delivery of equipment. 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,” Dasuki said in the statement released on Wednesday.
According to a report by online news medium, The Cable,
Jonathan, who was a guest at a forum co-hosted by the National
Democratic Institute and the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies on Thursday in Washington, the United States, said he never
awarded any $2bn contract.
In the
discussion moderated by a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and
member of the NDI Board of Directors, Ambassador Johnnie Carson,
Jonathan said there was simply nowhere such money could have come from.
Jonathan
was quoted as saying, “I did not award any $2bn contract for
procurement of weapons. Where did the money come from? I did not award a
contract of $2bn for procurement of weapons.
“Sometimes,
I feel sad when people mention these figures. The figures are
staggering and untrue. Another governor said someone stole a million
barrels of oil per day.”
This is the first time the former President will be speaking publicly on the issue.
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