Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the release of $ 1billion to equip the military to fight insecurity. The approval came without recourse to the National Assembly. In this report, Assistant Editor, CHINWE MADUAGWU, sought further reactions on the procedure and the need for the money.
The Presidency recently announced the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of $ 1billion to be taken from the Excess Crude Account to equip the military in the fight against insecurity. The recommendation had been made in December by the National Executive Committee (NEC), at one of its meetings. The decision and announcement by the Presidency was made in spite of the government’s claim that it has technically defeated Boko Haram which had been a thorn in the nation’s peace and security.
That approval has drawn a lot of condemnation and criticisms from Nigerians of different walks of life who see it as a misplaced priority. The argument of those against the President’s decision is that there are other areas of need and sectors of the economy that would benefit and impact more on the lives of ordinary Nigerians if such a huge sum of money was invested in them.
There are also speculations in some quarters that the money may end up in the hands of a few individuals, and go the way of several other allocations. Besides, some also argue that the President erred in announcing the approval without recourse to the National Assembly and therefore, see the action as an unnecessary heating up of the polity.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Army, Rimande Shawulu, while reacting to the pronouncement had said there would be serious trouble if any money goes out for such purpose because the President lacks the constitutional power to embark on such solo procurement without the mandate of the legislature. On the other hand, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, also condemned the approval by the President without seeking the approval of the National Assembly.
In defense of the President, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, claimed that those opposing or criticising the approval were playing politics with the lives of Nigerians, insisting that the President followed due procedure in approving the release of the fund.
Mr. Adewunmi Fatunde, a legal practitioner, however, disagrees with Adesina. According to him, the National Assembly should have been the place for the President to begin from. “I would say that such a thing should have gone through the National Assembly to get approval before the Presidency can go on. When you look at the alleged Dasukigate, there’s need to be cautious. One billion dollars is a lot of money anywhere in the world. In any case we have a budget for the year, so are we looking at a supplementary budget?”
In his views, the issue goes beyond getting approval from NASS. He is concerned about the morality of the issue also. He said, “When we look at the situation that Nigeria finds herself – oil is not doing too well, the economy is not doing too fine, we are just a one commodity economy and even that part of the economy is not too fine – it would have been a different thing if they were talking about investing the funds in agriculture or infrastructural development or more crucial needs.
“We could be investing the money gradually in our health sector. Defence has always enjoyed priority in our budgets. Moreover, we keep hearing from the government that it is doing well with Boko Haram. So if we are doing well, we should spend less in that area and more in other areas that need attention.”
For Mr. Mike Nwabufo, a Computer Specialist the channel of approval does not make any difference as he does not support or approve of money being released to the military at this point in time.
“It was the Federal Government that said Boko Haram had been decimated and decapitated and that the leader is on the run. If their leader is on the run, it means they are scattered even though after that piece of information they were able to kidnap the Dapchi girls and also returned them unchallenged. So what do they want to do with one billion dollars? To equip the military for what, which fight again, is it crocodile dance or shark swim?
“The military has withdrawn from Benue State and other places where we have security challenges so what security challenges are they talking about. I really don’t understand it but I don’t think the money is for the military. The government should tell us what the money is truly for,” he told The Next Edition.
Dr. Boniface Chizea, an Economist, however, doesn’t have a problem with money being taken from the Excess Crude Account. He believes “There is nothing wrong with taking money from the Excess Crude Account at our point of need as in this case, the need to fight insurrection. But we must do due diligence by obtaining necessary authorisation and make sure that the entire process is transparent. What are the details of the expenditure? And there must be accountability. If we do so the accusations of diversion for political ends would be put to rest.”
READ ALSO: FG orders probe into mace snatching at Senate
Similarly, Mr. Steve Adaramoye, a legal practitioner and human rights activist expressed the view that what the President did in approving the release of the money without recourse to NASS was akin to putting the cart before the horse. “First, the President should have sought the consent of the NASS before approving the money instead of approving it first and notifying the NASS,” he said.
He, however, would not comment on whether the military needs such an amount of money, insisting that “at this point, it would be improper for me to begin to speculate on whether the military needs the money or not except I lay my hands on the details of how the money will be spent. That not withstanding, I must say that the issue of security is paramount in the country. Without security, nobody can do anything. Without properly equipping the military, we will have a problem.”
A security personnel who spoke on the condition of anonymity was of the view that the money should not be withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account for any purpose. According to him the approving authority was immaterial as the money would not be put to any use that will benefit Nigerians. “It’s all politics. Buhari is doing what others before him had done. At the end of the day, you will not see what the money was used for. There is no accountability. It is the same story of embezzlement,” he submitted.
Beyond the arguments about the approval given by the President for the release of $1billion, the government had, not long ago, through the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, announced that it was negotiating with the Boko Haram insurgents to lay down their arms and embrace amnesty. According to the Minister, it was on the basis of that negotiation that the Dapchi schoolgirls were released by Boko Haram after several days in captivity.
Nigerians are, therefore, wondering whether it is the same insurgents that the government wants to fight with $ 1billion worth of military equipment. Until these questions are resolved, the Buhari administration may find it difficult to regain the people’s confidence.