Since assuming office in April last year, President Buhari has made the fight against corruption his main priority and anti-graft agencies have been arresting and arraigning members of the previous government. According to governor Fayose, however, President Buhari is only going after the members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is shielding his friends and allies.
Last week for instance, a Nigerian Army report indicted two former chiefs of army staff but the incumbent appointed by President Buhari was not mentioned. Governor Fayose urged Nigerians to demand the release of the authentic report of the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He described claim by the federal government that the probe panel only looked into procurement and contracts awarded by the military between 2011 and 2015 because documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 were not available as a clear indication of support for corruption. Governor Fayose said it smacked of sheer hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to accept that fraud could have been perpetrated in the procurement and award of contracts in an establishment without the involvement of the director of procurement.
Governor Fayose added: “It is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury. There are many petitions relating to defence from 2007 that are being discarded, the question is why?
"There are several petitions against APC leaders that are not being looked into and the question is why? Buhari’s’ minister of interior, Lt General Abdulrahman Dambazau was chief of army staff between 2008 and 2010 and the current chief of army staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai, served as director of procurement, defence headquarters, from 2012 till May, 2015."
According to the governor, the committee, in its terms of reference, said it queried all procurements from 2007 to 2015. He added that the first paragraph of the committee report also indicated that it used 2007 to 2015 as reference, stating that the committee analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.
“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask President Buhari and his government are where is the report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010? Who doctored the committee report and why?
“Lai Mohammed said the committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents are available. It is necessary that Nigerians are told who the custodians of the documents are and why were documents on procurement from 2011 and 2015 available and those of 2007 to 2010 not available?” Governor Fayose added.
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