$1BN FOR BOKO HARAM FIGHT: Reps kick, say it’ll cause problems

The House of Representatives has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of $1 billion for arms procurement to fight Boko Haram as a policy statement which cannot be executed without following due process.

It warned that should the money be released without the approval of the National Assembly as required by the constitution that it is a very serious problem which would not be tolerated by the lawmakers.

This was stated by the chairman, House Committee on Army, Rimande Shawulu, when he spoke to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, on the sidelines of the Second Procurement Awareness Seminar, organised by the Directorate of Procurement, Army Headquarters.

Earlier on Wednesday, the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Ben Murray-Bruce, was quoted to have also described President Buhari’s approval of the money as mere choice of words as it has not been approved by the National Assembly.

Bruce was reported to have said, “It has not been approved, it is simply the choice of words. The Presidency or the executive cannot spend a single kobo on such a mission unless the National Assembly approves that.

“It is only when the Senate or National Assembly approves that the executive can go ahead to spend such money. The executive can only recommend and not to approve.”

Speaking on Thursday, Shawulu, who represents Donga/Ussa/Takum/Special Area Constituency of Taraba State said, “I can inform you that of recent, our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, gave approval for the purchase of more equipment for the military worth $1 billion, Dan-Ali was quoted to have said while responding to questions from newsmen on Wednesday at the State House.

“The fact of the matter is that there are processes for money coming into the federation account and for the money being used. And the point we must note too is that a lot of times, pronouncements are policy statements and the policy statements are not just executed, it’s not as if, when the announcement was made, the federation account was debited. No, it doesn’t happen that way.

READ ALSO: $1BN SECURITY FUND: PDP lobbies National Assembly to call Buhari to order

“When the President says he’s going to spend money, there’s a process that is followed before the money is spent. So, I want you to understand that, it’s not as if money has gone out.

“However, if money has gone out without parliamentary approval, that’s a problem, it’s a very serious problem if money went out without parliamentary approval.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had accused President Buhari of intending to ‘loot’ the $1 billion for his re-election campaign in 2019 and not for purchase of arms and equipment.

 

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