Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has spoken out on the reports and insinuations that the arms deal report report was doctored to avoid implication some people in the president's camp.
Lai Mohammed
In a statement issued by Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser, to Minister of Information and Culture, in Abuja today, July 15th, Lai Mohammed, has disclosed that there is no truth in the insinuation that the report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces (2007-2015) was doctored by him.
We had
earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the probe of two former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah and 52 persons to be investigated for their roles in the arms scandal after the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces, submitted its report to the president.
Many Nigerians online and social media are accusing the federal government of being selective and refusing to indict key members of the current administration, believed to have played questionable roles in military procurement since 2007.
Critics cite the Minister of Interior, Abdurrahman Danbazau, who was the Chief of Army between 2008 and 2010, as an example. The government is also accused of not indicting Tukur Buratai, current Chief of Army Staff, who served as the director of military procurement under the former Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The outspoken minister of information and culture, said what has been released so far is the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015, adding that the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents are available.
"When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 are available and scrutinized, the committee will then issue its report on that. The audit is being done on phases, and the report that was released on Thursday is the third of such," he said.
The minister however assured that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government's anti-corruption fight is non-discriminatory, and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as events unfold.
"No one should attempt to distract from the seriousness of the issues involved in this audit of defence equipment procurement. It is important to note that even though the total amount spent for procurement and operations within the period were N185,843,052,564.30 and $685,349,692.49, the irregularities in the awards ensured that the military did not get value for money, with very serious consequences," Lai said.