In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said since the
federal government has taken ownership of the funds by saying the
National Security Adviser (NSA) issued the end-user certificate for the
arms purchase, it stands to reason that the same government will know
the involvement of all those aboard the plane.APC said the
questions become pertinent because even the NSA, who issued the end-user
agreement for the purchase, does not and cannot purchase arms for any
of the armed services. The Service Chiefs have separate budgets from the
NSA for arms purchase:
“Under our Constitution, the NSA is an adviser and has no executive powers to deploy troops from any of the services or purchase arms for them. That the arms purported to be purchased from South Africa were ordered from the office of the NSA is nothing but a mere fabrication, and raises serious questions about the motive for the purchase.
“Nigerians will therefore like to know on whose behalf Asari Dokubo was purchasing arms. This is very crucial because Asari Dokubo has been threatening that Nigeria will not know peace if his benefactor, President Jonathan, is not re-elected. Therefore, Nigerians will like to know whether he has started stockpiling arms to make his threat a reality, since elections are due in a few months’ time.“If these arms are meant to fight insurgency, as the government has claimed, what is Asari Dokubo’s business purchasing arms for the Nigerian military, if indeed they were for the military?
“Does
it not occur to the Nigerian government that this man who once took
arms against the state may not have jettisoned his sinister plan against
the same state? Which country will ever allow a man who once carried
arms against the state to now be purchasing arms for the same state?
Even if it is true that he is purchasing the arms for the state, what
prevents him from also using the opportunity to purchase arms for his
own sinister motive? Could this be why Asari Dokubo has been talking
publicly and confidently, without official censure, that President
Jonathan must be re-elected or Nigeria will not know peace again?” the
party queried.“…on Tuesday, we again asked President Jonathan
to come clean on the US$9.3 million and US$5.7 million deals. We also
asked him to tell Nigerians the identity of the two Nigerians who were
on the plane that illegally ferried money to South Africa. Now that the
Nigerians are known, and they are the President’s men, the story has
taken a new dimension,” it said.
APC said since those who claim to be fighting for Nigeria’s unity may actually be the ones working against it, since those who lay claim to patriotism may actually be any but patriotic, it is more urgent now, than ever, for the National Assembly to take these cash-for-arms deals seriously, instead of dismissing the concerns of Nigerians on the basis of some rules as the House of Representatives has glibly done.
The party commended the media for keeping the story alive and for working hard to unearth the identity of the Nigerians aboard the ill-fated plane that illegally flew money into another country in violation of that country’s laws and all known tenets of decency.
APC called on the media, in pursuance of its constitutional role of a watchdog, not to relent in exposing the circumstances surrounding the cash-for-arms deals, which have seriously embarrassed Nigeria in the comity of nations and which have the potential to threaten Nigeria’s unity, going by the latest revelations.
APC said since those who claim to be fighting for Nigeria’s unity may actually be the ones working against it, since those who lay claim to patriotism may actually be any but patriotic, it is more urgent now, than ever, for the National Assembly to take these cash-for-arms deals seriously, instead of dismissing the concerns of Nigerians on the basis of some rules as the House of Representatives has glibly done.
The party commended the media for keeping the story alive and for working hard to unearth the identity of the Nigerians aboard the ill-fated plane that illegally flew money into another country in violation of that country’s laws and all known tenets of decency.
APC called on the media, in pursuance of its constitutional role of a watchdog, not to relent in exposing the circumstances surrounding the cash-for-arms deals, which have seriously embarrassed Nigeria in the comity of nations and which have the potential to threaten Nigeria’s unity, going by the latest revelations.
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