Dasuki writes EFCC, asks for more time, meanwhile more
questions may be awaiting former President Goodluck Jonathan on arms
deals during his tenure after his weekend denial in Washington DC that
he never incurred a bill of $2 billion on arms procurement.This
includes the whereabouts of the over $1billion loan approved for him by
the 7th National Assembly for arms purchase to fight the Boko Haram
insurgency.
It was unclear last night whether the loan was accessed by the administration before the expiration of its tenure on May 29.
His loyalists claimed yesterday that the money was not made available before he left office.
There were suggestions that the Special Investigative Panel on arms
procurement may be asked to establish the truth about the loan.
More military officers, ex-ministers and arms contractors may be invited for clarifications, it was gathered.
Jonathan returned to Abuja from the USA on Friday with his ex-members
said to be regrouping to defend arms deals during his presidency and
other allegations against the administration.
Jonathan had on July 16, 2014, written to the 7th National Assembly
for the approval of a $1 billion loan for the fight against Boko Haram.
The ex- President said he needed the cash to upgrade military
equipment and for training as well as logistics for the Armed Forces.
Jonathan made the request in a letter entitled: “Tackling ongoing security challenges: The need for urgent action.”
On September 25, 2014, the Senate approved the loan following the
submission of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Finance and
that of Local and Foreign Debt by the Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.
A reliable source, who spoke in confidence, said: “In spite of the
submission of Interim Report, the ongoing probe of the arms deal is
continuing. One of the areas being looked into is what became of the
$1billion loan approved for Jonathan by the 7th Senate.
“Actually, the loan was approved going by the records made available
to the probe panel. So, if the panel is talking of $2billion, it must
have been based on records in its care.
“This development may lead to the invitation of some ex-ministers to
clarify the status of the loan and whether or not it was diverted to
other use.”
But a former Minister said: “Initially, the vote was about $900m but
the leadership of the 7th Senate advised the Executive to ask for
$1billion to accommodate unexpected financial challenges in fighting
Boko Haram.
“The Ministry of Finance ought to write letters to those advancing
the loan and those companies supplying the arms on how the government
will remit the funds.
“We however did not get the $1billion loan because the former
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, did not sign necessary
papers as a result of the inability of her office to receive the
required votes and proceedings from the National Assembly.”
Ex-President Jonathan returned to Abuja on Friday with his erstwhile cabinet members regrouping on how to defend their tenure.
A highly-placed source said: “We have resolved to respond to any
issue raised by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on
facts and figures.
“Ex-President Jonathan has started it in the US, we will no longer
keep quiet because the stigmatization is increasingly becoming
unbearable.
“We will not confront Buhari government but we will be replying on points of records.”
Embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was said to
have written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for
more time to appear for grilling over the arms deals.
The letter was submitted to EFCC on Friday by Dasuki’s counsel.
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